China's BYD says more U.S. employees for California property to rent

SHANGHAI, Nov 4 Reuters)-Warren Buffett-backed Chinese car manufacturer BYD Co Ltd said that it would hire more local employees at the new electric bus factory in California, its latest response to criticism that it violated work rules in the United States.

BYD has temporarily borrowed, some Chinese engineers and experts to Chinese technology in local employees of integrated Los Angeles transfer and no American workers will be displaced, BYD said in a statement on Monday.

BYD plans to another, bus production begins it added to hire local employees. BYD employs approximately 40 local workers in the factory.

Advocacy group Los Angeles Alliance for a new economy said that the carmaker employees pay the required minimum wage have failed, and it accused of human rights violations. The company $100,000 fine after California authorities the fees the New York investigated according to a current report times.

BYD said last week the labour rights group spreading "Misinformation".

In the statement on Monday, BYD said it "dedicates itself to make sure that its employees be treated fairly" and details some of its workers conditions in the factory.

BYD stepped up efforts to sell electric vehicles from abroad. It has this year among others to the U.S. cities of Los Angeles and long beach and to Amsterdam Schiphol airport provide completed several contracts.

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Buy a Grosser and Robert Stack's 300SL Roadster at Auctions America: First California auction starts with a bevy of Benzes

The star-studded star of the auction, Robert Stack's 300SL Roadster. Photo by Pawel Litwinski.

Our pick for the auction. Whack the peasants with your walking stick. Photo by Hugh Hamilton.

Just 1,100 miles, and still as cool as Need For Speed made it out to be. Photo by Hugh Hamilton.

Comes with a Becker Frankfurt radio and a certificate of authenticity from Porsche! Photo by Pawel Litwinski.

What's a nice gift between friends?

When Robert Stack won an Emmy for Best Actor in 1960 for "The Untouchables," "I Love Lucy" star Desi Arnaz toasted him by giving him a present as a token of success. That present just happened to be a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster, the one pictured above.

We're not saying it's connected, but Arnaz got divorced from Lucille Ball in 1960. That same year, he bought the Benz. Coincidence? There's a popular bumper sticker about boys and said boys' toys, but we won't repeat it here.

This car is not only rare because it's, after all, a freakin' 300SL -- it also has not one, but two examples of celebrity provenance. How much do you think it'll sell for? Two million? Three million? The combined GDP of Benelux? Whoever buys it is going to have a lot of 'splainin' to do, that's for sure.

Auctions America has been around since 2010, but this is its first California auction, happening Aug. 1-3 at the Burbank Marriott located conveniently by the airport. And what a lineup it's prepared for its West Coast debut: there's a 1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, an Irish Green 1968 Porsche 911 Targa, a Benz 190SL Roadster. How about a Jaguar XJ220, the wonderful and troubled 1990s supercar, with just 1,100 miles? How about a 1974 Ferrari Dino with Daytona seats, Becker radio, and mouse-fur upholstery? How about a hand for Burbank, Calif.?

And yes, the featured Benz is grand. (You can even bring copies of the "Vitameatavegamin" episode on VHS to help seal the deal at the next California Mille.) But what's even more grand than the 300SL is another fine Mercedes-Benz product, one that was produced a mere 14 years after Arnaz's car: the Grosser, a 1974 Mercedes-Benz 600 LWB Pullman Limousine -- Benz's all-singing, all-hydraulic wunderkind, this one as gray as Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. This one has 48,000 miles and a refrigerator, so you could conceivably live in it on a steady diet of Bitburger and Bierkase. There's the oft-popular divider window too, so you could rent out the front end as an additional bedroom at the rate equal to all those auction fees you'll have to cough up if you win.

Like its owners, the 300SL Roadster is obviously the star of the show, and will command most of NBC Sports Network's coverage when the auction goes live in August. (Car auctions are only classified a "sport" if its bidders check each other into the folding chairs with their elbows while raising their bid signs.) If star-struck provenance is lost on you -- as it is on us -- or if you don't have a bank account comparable to the claims made by email inbox princes, then the 600 Pullman is our bet for the three-starred elite. Boy, do we love ourselves a Grosser.

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GM changing Volt for California carpool lanes

General Motors Co is adjusting its plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt to meet strict California requirements for a $1,500 state rebate and allow drivers to use special carpool lanes there, the carmaker said on Thursday.

Volts sold in California starting later this month will have an additional emissions system fan to help curb tailpipe emissions and some software changes not available on Volts sold outside California, GM said.

The change comes at a time when Volt sales have been slow for a car seen as a game-changer for GM. California is the biggest U.S. auto market in general, and the biggest market for alternative fuel vehicles.

A fourth of the 7,671 Volts GM sold in 2011 were sold in California.

GM said that it did not include the additional equipment for California Volts until now because it did not want to delay the vehicle's launch. Sales began in December 2010.

California has 1,400 miles of roads with lanes designated for cars carrying two or more people. Volt drivers along with drivers of other advanced-battery and zero-emissions cars can use these lanes even if the cars are carrying only the driver.

GM says that cars on congested Southern California roads that use the high-occupany vehicle lanes can save about 36 minutes a day in commuting time.

The ability to drive in the "HOV lanes" in California was a boost to sales of the Prius hybrid when Toyota Motor Corp ramped up sales of the market's dominant hybrid car. But standard hybrids like the Prius are no longer eligible for special stickers to allow access to HOV lanes for cars without passengers.

Toyota will next month begin selling a plug-in Prius that will get about 15 miles on battery charge alone.

This new version of the Prius will be eligible for the $1,500 California rebate and the HOV lane stickers.

California plans to issue up to 40,000 HOV lane stickers in 2012.

GM said that single-occupancy Volts are also eligible for access to carpool lanes in New York, Florida and Georgia.

GM is not saying how much it will cost to add the new equipment to each California Volt. The costs will not be passed onto the customers because GM wants a national sales price for the Volt, a spokesman said.

The Volt retails at $39,900 before a $7,500 federal tax credit and the $1,500 California rebate.

GM lowered the retail price of the Volt from $41,500 on its 2012 models.

Shipments of the "low emissions package" Volts started last week from GM's Detroit-Hamtrack plant.

The Volt operates for about 35 miles on battery power when fully charged. Under this mode, there are no tailpipe emissions. When battery power is low, a gasoline engine powers a generator that creates power to run the electric engine, allowing the Volt to have a range of about 380 miles, based on U.S. government estimates.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters.

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