 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
|

楼主 |
发表于 2010-2-24 01:19
|
显示全部楼层
丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
1 j$ \8 ^+ `/ M& L. J& mBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
; T7 t% D( ?1 O( }2 e/ N7 z8 q4 IWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.2 ~8 V, c* p' q! g) B
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
1 L$ B# u7 A6 [! pthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
9 ^! a( E% q) z m# }6 Tsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
& e; u/ [ A0 @8 u"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
m+ Q2 G) R1 X2 ncauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.: l& G3 d6 b$ z- t6 g
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected7 N8 A6 L* d: u8 w/ g: u
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and* M$ Y; w6 E. {/ N9 j! T: `3 L
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor, M2 t7 K+ }" g1 g$ ]2 ?# B3 {, o
mats and sticking accelerator pedals. C* r4 G6 R5 E, ~, p8 T, F1 f( f" `3 S7 ]
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
) @+ `- o0 B: A/ y# ^" Band fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp4 x8 g0 \( R1 D' ~" J
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be* X/ g; ?; b' Q/ ~. e2 O
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could9 l; C* g/ D; ^3 @7 q+ V$ f
not stop her runaway Lexus.
5 H2 e0 ^2 a9 u( l"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
% T/ }% t8 z& U/ r$ h/ {- k( uTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
+ l/ u0 H4 Y$ O9 ]"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
3 d- N* A0 u7 |: u) mTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues& p. [ \+ @" G7 d9 A: u3 V/ V% q7 R
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said! G) U4 _) E0 h- Y9 [0 T
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has/ O7 z+ T' o0 `4 c& ]' d5 f
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway3 E+ t6 k/ \4 q5 p. N
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
+ a; }" Q9 Y$ j) {investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
& h) B3 c7 e8 t( S# ~Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an0 u' I& k4 F$ S" C
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
+ |$ g1 D( K4 b$ I6 B4 u$ X6 `the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
6 V, v! {1 Z% P% k v" l. {malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
. r9 s6 v. v4 Q+ }0 F4 `! s& bsaid.& L; f$ A e" x1 _! z
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what2 q. [* R& X+ J5 j- t
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
% T* B' K- c5 Aabout driving our products," Lentz said.* d2 ?7 I# B; T6 q% r
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's" K: P( E8 D# k) `7 C
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
7 `% v3 i0 c) Brecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
7 O$ q& _! x# _# c4 v0 E5 D* ]million in the United States -- since last fall because of
4 Z( I) X0 H9 t) gunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
& ?$ N4 {% T& \) I- iissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering2 o$ D# U: L9 N' e$ Y: }+ _6 ~
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of* n( C% @) @# p% Q
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
+ x/ v' E; f+ u, Idown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has# w' c: I/ }% O# A# T
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration) T2 O# M ]. K0 B; [: S3 k. V
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
& j8 U; J- S N. i2 z/ fLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own& W7 ]6 r& i# w+ X1 j
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he" _1 k/ T' k. ]8 Y( u* F
understood the pain.$ W) b5 ]4 \6 p* g4 i/ N* |4 x
"I know what those families go through," he said.9 Y+ O* ^6 J6 U1 S5 y. S1 N1 N
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
" B7 z* @- ?. o1 N+ O! D0 Yfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
& b: F9 d7 R4 vBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman2 \: n% r0 F' Q( d8 i4 _
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
2 e! G8 Z' M, Ain place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,2 c8 V7 L' `+ U9 q% b! ~6 u5 z, O
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
T# W8 g5 A, ?. ^' K& @Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
7 L R. u& _6 {"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said1 f' b8 S& Y: Q
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas$ r8 s# X! G* Z5 q
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its# G- ~) r2 G5 d$ Z3 U: `
vehicles already on the road.
5 z& y: M7 Q/ F( B* n V; T& qMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
J$ }- C1 X5 t9 R+ S8 `before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full5 b. T- v' y! k! |$ U
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
6 g9 n7 @5 } Joffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were1 Q) {" @2 M9 ]" k' [
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems. ^5 p. S/ A9 j. T' A% g
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a; b5 C) i; Q. z4 z' J1 i1 K
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony- w2 U$ e' `/ U2 f0 I! L. V w) k
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight6 x) y, e% Z+ V* J
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
8 n5 ^8 n6 r' b4 F0 D0 ccommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to1 n% y8 o- I9 h4 {( ] Z
restore the trust of our customers."/ r) J) x u' N" J) D6 D
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
$ R& X) @7 v% |6 M Q. z4 C" NSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
$ C( ~& u' q+ T* ] s* p' K: Kzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --6 n" |2 p9 {# d& P7 \$ r1 c
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and# Y# S7 B9 r) p( X
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
1 f% E! {# L5 H' e9 B) i1 z5 V; Bthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
- V# e. l! w0 p* K5 B: i5 N% ^turn off the engine.
% O, Y1 \1 @- i% DFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of& q$ Y7 [* g5 I& \- ^
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience.") E8 t ~2 b( V
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she' X h- o. Y) t2 j9 f
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
" g; e, E, Y I0 ^/ k7 {* uto her complaints.; z2 @3 a' q" V" D# O0 J2 c8 x
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
: H/ A6 W3 H2 jreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic& J) p3 L; E) ?# ~ l, k
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.9 H$ z# G% d( q6 w; b. k
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric) y1 K5 X1 g9 C* ^
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited8 E5 ?* D+ n" Q( w5 |8 P# `4 L
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut( l& d0 f8 o8 L1 p$ _
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."9 x0 C4 o& J7 M' p: U
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in G/ f: E% j4 l8 w( p
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were. W! w3 y& j* a& d9 l6 e; U0 u
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls# S% o" _% ^9 A7 j% x& F7 K
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
* G1 ]. a) t: F) [: X) V7 revery question."5 ]9 \& \# m6 Q. X
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
8 L: j7 e9 [( F; H& A$ Oelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
4 O/ T5 P+ H; b$ J" z, X! T& Vfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But% N& P! @( Q" r+ t
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small# N8 w7 m: V+ k3 e$ c9 V
number of vehicles
# K5 s+ n2 Q% S# ]Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more9 e4 E7 x, j) }- o1 j& n% k
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a9 F6 _, e, c* m4 V
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
( \! q$ U5 B- g! N, H( msource, and they can come from inside or outside the car. _) B' g r3 y
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,1 y8 w" o' H! s/ `9 \6 T. `
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
D* R: L6 G8 c; U) h3 ^8 i* |trace at all.
& k% Q$ k; L) w0 sHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call% Y! k' @3 U5 F. \1 W N
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
' a7 p: x5 V: a7 `" |acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
. Q$ x1 ?1 G9 o8 j& X5 Srecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
" \# c4 y* t, R+ t; H/ X$ z% ?# G, xRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
0 {- e4 l2 p" M5 n! u Msaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
' z- ~) W' E1 [! N4 \6 n8 \other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
0 R/ o4 p2 g% Zelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
4 s& P0 i% [. dcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only. G) x; ?. \% d; b
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained! Q/ W2 A# H N# ]2 l8 i: O: R
by Toyota's lawyers."6 h c; e0 u" C1 r1 T# Z; A& \
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
/ d/ \% P7 {4 R" R0 pproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our8 H' L7 Z% U& n
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
/ q- t0 `1 j z/ ~3 e! v- isaid.2 i, l9 r& r% j4 g
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with4 J8 U# L; ^# X
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our. v' U; k% ^. f0 a& b6 P7 h
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating/ \/ f4 }" e/ ]* B# j; B* f1 \# C) L% R0 E
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
! }# Y9 E1 ~ K# p! m- v; fSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
) x6 E+ h& V! n' P A/ n, k1 `/ Smembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
2 Z: H0 p5 B& S' T4 o8 nrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
) o; r, y) @1 z( u( y/ p: cautomaker, at least in part because of the government's7 a2 j4 \) ^$ V; k. [% Z
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
+ ?$ V3 R% X. w/ }% wChrysler.5 Z) o6 m, b) y; `
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
2 j# B. f$ t, p3 R# U" l5 n3 vdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a, r; ~. S; p& X; u
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
" b( {: ^2 i7 n3 f3 Jserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete$ a/ g" m% w- o9 R
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty+ o, z& U/ f$ O& H& w$ {
tough."
; ]4 f1 R/ s$ Z' W5 q' c# B, v; {/ D---6 g$ d4 K5 L! B
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom# C; y/ b6 @& Y8 u5 p5 u
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
7 Y; I) X& F$ j$ a" X1 P. w* t0 t/ u' lthis story.
: K2 I! a. j3 M2 c+ J/ B0 g. X; b- m/ t4 p- h3 w/ b
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|