 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
/ X1 h1 ~, ]5 w9 W# G& qBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS4 @ F$ k4 W) B# d! _# j9 j
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
9 W; b: C; |) [& E! uoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that- _6 G7 f) T$ w- t" F
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"4 Z- Y7 J' z1 ~3 L g" u* M
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.. x. Q7 b7 D8 P; `4 P4 O; r
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
3 n4 {2 Q6 }/ `- e2 I7 Ccauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
8 u0 L. `' J m9 \+ W0 zHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected' g; @- X$ U8 T9 {
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and) t5 Z! O* R8 p0 z& D( E
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
: P2 s0 w5 x1 o. q8 S; Bmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
+ Y$ e0 c8 v, j; I" K/ s1 ?! x7 YHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
9 o- _. A Q1 ]and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp0 }& k- X* I+ Y% H. x" P
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
+ d/ g7 k) @6 f3 [$ y( r7 ofurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
* t* k+ {6 Z) K' ^. j. q, Tnot stop her runaway Lexus.
1 o/ a; N8 u4 P6 u& |. c; t7 d7 t"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
8 L$ W. \/ ]! B# N! J; BTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second( [, W( C! p1 |$ |
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
, |, k+ m$ J. T+ s* t, [8 C2 VTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues8 G: Q' s& k5 C- w" Y
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
9 U; K" ]3 c. e& e; ?& g"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
4 w& O$ V( i' j' J9 Y- s4 \" |, Sdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
) `4 @4 j; r F2 rthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
, R% Z/ _! ~; T# Y9 L, a1 R' B* Jinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."' w) n; J0 z H( Q3 Z* i
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an$ i; V/ w6 n% }9 P! w$ H
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of( \2 l) e. ]' M
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
2 w6 U" T0 \, R$ c8 Y- |* gmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
& m" ?/ r6 w$ A. z4 \/ ?' Ksaid.1 I# W# g# Z6 a1 I; }6 `
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what+ v' s1 h+ l: Z' w
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
- t/ N* v* H. F* o( K; Oabout driving our products," Lentz said.% e. D2 w5 Y5 r" f" z
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
( P* T: Z- |# R$ t: z1 x' `% @problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has1 ]6 ?. u4 E. q% ^5 `+ `5 ^
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
8 z& u3 e7 M) F. }7 \million in the United States -- since last fall because of
+ e1 s% B/ ^- a; b( a& |unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking! m' N$ ^9 _- V2 Y; O+ L1 h" B
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
7 M8 w1 }9 M+ f. u2 V6 D tconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of: n3 ^7 P; f* C0 f4 L
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
5 E% h; w9 i8 B. ?2 B4 V/ udown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has, T L. o, i2 C) ~! y/ C
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
) E( [- F: s E" t1 Q+ ]5 @7 Iof Toyota vehicles since 2000.& A" R" k n( e8 ]1 I# ^ R9 W
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
) i8 @3 `6 X& `( }# m Abrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
& d3 W' _, Z; l( L: ounderstood the pain.
9 [5 C) B6 k* p2 B3 h7 R" r"I know what those families go through," he said.. a& y" D1 d- T3 o! @- v
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's0 U2 e+ I; S% L
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
, a! m& `- a4 K3 vBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman& N9 s& x3 U9 ?3 g- ^
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put9 q* M( k) `$ s4 Z
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
" [6 B2 [' i) FLentz replied: "Not totally."
4 h5 f7 \- g; j& G) x& [Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were* |5 a2 i# n$ A" p7 p
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
) L+ R+ x' C) V' C8 \5 e* Q% YToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
8 b y& J. G7 ?; Q0 D3 ?pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its( z1 y3 [( S# X
vehicles already on the road.
! b5 R& ?: n3 D2 yMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify) B: m. V G" v5 }9 }7 v; b
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full+ v4 @5 z5 E' @+ a$ j- |( h' J" z
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
: h% G2 w) E/ P1 s+ Zoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
+ X7 ~! |* R" q6 pkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
7 p; A9 U$ X4 W$ p0 S4 @! t"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a3 X$ O! v) S/ G* o5 ~! n- Q- G; R
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony6 [" x/ W* K" `$ @- }1 o
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight! k' A% G5 C: I B! h
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
7 w' O) b+ @. B: g+ b' N8 [2 G6 `8 Xcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to* a ^9 T% H$ d0 I* i
restore the trust of our customers."* X5 A1 U8 R2 S4 B4 l. H
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from* P, L$ y8 D8 x L7 L5 T- \8 I: B
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
T& x* I, ^) B+ r7 O7 Hzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --6 u4 t, n3 o0 @: u
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and2 M3 J$ E- g; T8 c$ o
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
$ Q* P0 s ^8 | qthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
8 n2 |5 J, C; Y3 |8 I3 ?, oturn off the engine.1 X+ H8 k O0 M4 x% Z4 i' P4 g
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of/ c' P. J3 u4 t' g5 O
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
' @! i* ]* l1 Y( h3 l"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
% X, K4 R% c; Isaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond+ U; T6 t" B) F$ J! Z3 I: V
to her complaints.
" m; ]5 }7 A1 H2 r, h" j. k# A, CIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
+ U1 u4 u0 g rreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
) F {( }+ |2 ^# a5 U9 `& \7 R& }$ Dmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.# w+ M5 }0 g, v- W4 C. \9 R" o
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric2 l6 ?! X5 u; s: \( u: E' i
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited2 Z; v& Q& Q5 t# ?& j N+ R
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
- M s4 A) J' t4 O, R: q& z. m7 qoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
" m4 v& \! k( B1 b. @Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
5 _; M3 R; X$ O& {. K0 {prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were# X# i& f5 B3 r- n( {+ a
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
9 M# i9 i: ?3 q, z/ b% |% Vwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
+ D# s0 p/ a7 v) bevery question."# v Q: T G0 z2 F" Q: x
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
2 e# V; D" Y) eelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
: N/ z1 b/ f* o' M) x. D- |firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
& o" j9 k5 M4 xcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
4 k( c$ ?/ Z7 u4 i. U/ Pnumber of vehicles
8 b7 ^# Z v9 @" Q0 t* jTracking down an electrical problem can be far more1 G# s# t# [$ b! H! x: ^$ l2 Y; B& O
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
' _: b- P+ s# }& j$ z; B! T- zmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
3 @ I, ~$ }& ]* e$ W4 ^source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
7 r3 ~+ f1 M/ B0 iMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,# P5 n) h7 T# A1 ~4 i1 ^% K
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no! Q8 q' x l2 y% B
trace at all.7 L$ @# b7 b' o: [
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call0 V! c- k) z6 j: g1 X
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden/ h9 j/ h0 k" ^* N4 `! X r( N% h
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
( v5 w7 c# o. v% w$ I! |recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
# w9 W; V9 O9 n9 fRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
8 K% K1 `% I6 y$ C1 W% Csaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
) C; o" z3 Y, s: }$ |& I$ K( s- |other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
4 q. E6 q' N1 [electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
* {% f. x+ x1 ^4 b! N: ]$ P+ x* w3 scause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only+ Y# V2 x4 y* I) O* B& F
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained* s0 l* ~/ M; y8 P" D
by Toyota's lawyers."
' ^/ B: Y$ n6 Z; o. n6 ELentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
2 i' K2 @# ~0 p+ Yproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our8 W, n3 _5 E* h ^) f
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
& t$ `. \" U4 e& M2 K ]5 V: o' @ Lsaid.
9 [5 E M, q3 L6 p"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with+ X( ~- M/ y8 \2 G
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
9 M; w. u5 q% v t( t( M: Zgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
" `4 A7 o. ~" q {* b& O2 F" J3 j8 Lofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.7 o& V: j- J6 I. J% ~5 p2 p! H
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying7 k k Y j+ w0 A
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
; P! _: O5 U0 ^, E( E+ P k0 trancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
+ k1 `: D; n( A |' J% n9 `; dautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
* k" ]( L, x' _! vinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
, r* w; d/ {/ B. r3 d$ }: H+ QChrysler.
1 k6 N) R3 Y$ r E5 R"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax3 j5 a8 m* c& Z0 I+ k5 g9 O1 U
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
( W" l: Q/ Q+ K2 yHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
, A3 Y# L6 f, ^+ V3 lserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
& y7 H) N- T- Z: [' mwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty' B) j- \0 `, v) ~5 _7 j! z
tough.": h+ M+ b- I& |3 g K) B# f
---
: ?- [5 \" _$ KAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
5 M$ ?7 I8 B, V% FRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to5 e; S$ S( l l: `4 E* Y9 n
this story.
2 r; f U+ b2 t5 Y9 P! v0 }# y, _ b; B' h/ b* T
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|