VOA标准英语2010年-Toyota Halts US Sales of Popular Model

Japanese automaker Toyota has suspended sales of some of its most popular models in the U.S. to fix a flaw in the gas pedals that could make the cars accelerate without warning.  The suspension comes after a recall last week involving 2.3 million vehicles. Toyota officials say the problem affects only U.S.-made vehicles, but could spread to Europe, where similar accelerator parts are used. 

In an extraordinary move that sent Toyota stock prices plummeting², the world's largest automaker has suspended sales of eight of its most popular models and shut down five North American plants.  Michelle Krebs at online auto¹ advisor³ Edmunds.com called the sales freeze "unprecedented⁴."

"It represents two-thirds of the Toyota brand sales and more than half of the whole company's sales.  We've never seen anything like this before," said Krebs.

Toyota announced the recall last Thursday following reports that the accelerator mechanism⁵ in some models can wear down and cause the gas pedal to stick.  The company says it is unaware⁶ of any accidents or injuries as a result of the flaw, but news reports link the defect to several accidents in the U.S, some with fatal results.

Affected⁷ models include Toyota's top selling Camry and Corolla sedans, the Rav4, Avalon, Matrix, Tundra⁸ and sport utility vehicles such as the Highlander⁹ and Sequoia¹⁰.

One Toyota owner says the company should have acted sooner.

TOYOTA OWNER1:  "I think it's a good thing, they probably should have done it a few weeks ago when they were saying it was the gas pedal and the floor mats."

U.S. auto dealers¹¹, already reeling from one of the worst sales slumps¹² in more than two decades, say the eight models account for 56 percent of Toyota's U.S. sales.  Fresno State marketing¹³ professor William Rice says the recall could hurt the company's advertised reputation for quality and safety.

"And when people have fears, they are not going to buy and so there's going to be a significant pullback of consumer confidence, pullback of consumer trust in their products, which is going to reach all the way down into their sales," he explained.

But some customers believe Toyota is doing what responsible companies do.

TOYOTA OWNER2:  "Things happen, mistakes happen.  If they're doing a recall, they're open about it with their customers, so I think it's just going to be a temporary setback¹⁴.  I don't think it's going to hold Toyota back or take anything away from their brand loyalty¹⁵."

Company officials say the problem part has been traced to one U.S. supplier and does not affect vehicles made in Japanese plants.  But the problem is expected to spread to Europe, where a similar accelerator part is used.

The recall and sales suspension is just the latest in a string of quality control problems that have plagued the Japanese automaker.  Last year, Toyota recalled nearly four million cars for a similar issue.

 

1 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

2 plummeting   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Prices are rising, falling, going up, going down, shooting up, plummeting, etc. 物价在上涨、下跌、上升、下落、猛然上涨、骤然下跌等。 来自辞典例句
• The enemy plane went plummeting into the sea. 敌机直直掉进海里。 来自辞典例句

3 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

4 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

5 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

6 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 tundra   

n.苔原，冻土地带

参考例句：

• The arctic tundra is at the top of the world around the North Pole.北极冻原是指北极点周边的地区，是世界最高的地方。
• There is a large amount of methane gas under the Siberian tundra.西伯利亚的冻土地带之下有大量的甲烷气体。

9 highlander   

n.高地的人，苏格兰高地地区的人

参考例句：

• They call him the highlander, he is Rory McLeod! 他们叫他寻事者，他是罗瑞·麦克劳德！ 来自互联网

10 sequoia   

n.红杉

参考例句：

• The sequoia national forest is at the southern end of the sierra nevada range.红杉国家公园位于内华达山脉南端尽头处。
• The photo shows the enormous general Sherman tree in California's sequoia national park.照片显示的是加利福尼亚州红杉国家公园内巨大的谢尔曼将军树。

11 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

12 slumps   

萧条期( slump的名词复数 )； （个人、球队等的）低潮状态； （销售量、价格、价值等的）骤降； 猛跌

参考例句：

• Deflation could emerge from simultaneous slumps in the world's three major economies. 如果世界经济三大主体同时衰退，通货紧缩就会出现。
• This is the cycle of economic booms and slumps. 这是经济繁荣和经济萧条的周期变化。

13 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

14 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

15 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。