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"  FRANKFURT \u2014 Volvo today introduced its ReCharge Concept, a Volvo C30 plug-in hybrid with individual electric wheel motors and batteries that can be recharged via a regular electrical outlet. A three-hour recharge offers a range of 62 miles on battery power alone before the car&amp;#039;s four-cylinder Flexifuel engine is needed to power the car and charge the battery again. &amp;quot;A certain proportion of electrical vehicles will be necessary to meet the CO2 emission demands of the future,&amp;quot; said Magnus Jonsson, Volvo&amp;#039;s senior VP for R&amp;amp;amp;D. &amp;quot;Since the Volvo ReCharge Concept combines an excellent battery range with a backup combustion engine, it is a very interesting concept.&amp;quot; Volvo insisted that a car such as the ReCharge could become a meaningful solution for drivers who commute less than the car&amp;#039;s range because the backup engine would probably never run on the way to work. The company also said that its new concept, while running on electric power only, should lower operating costs to about 80 percent that of a comparable gasoline-powered car. If it&amp;#039;s driven beyond the 62-mile battery range, fuel consumption may vary from 0 to 45 mpg, depending on engine use. Volvo projected that the C30 plug-in hybrid could put out approximately 66 percent lower CO2 emissions than even the best hybrid cars on the market today. The ReCharge is a &amp;quot;series&amp;quot; hybrid, with no mechanical connection between the engine and the wheels. The battery pack integrated into the trunk uses lithium-polymer battery technology, with the batteries intended to have a useful life longer than that of the car itself. Four electric motors, one at each wheel, provide independent traction power, with the 1.6-liter Flexifuel engine driving a generator that powers the wheel motors when the battery is depleted. At that point, an efficient generator called the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) also steps in to distribute electrical power to the individual motors. Since the combustion engine only powers the generator, it can operate in an optimal range, minimizing emissions and CO2. Theoretically, the APU generator is powerful enough to supply an entire house with electricity. With minor modifications, Volvo says, it could give the owner an emergency generator in the event of a power failure. The gasoline engine starts up automatically when 30 percent of electric power remains. But the driver can also control the engine manually using a button in the instrument panel. This feature allows the driver to start the engine earlier in order to maximize battery charge. Acceleration from 0-62 mph takes nine seconds and top speed is projected at 96 mph. \u2014Jim McCraw SPECIAL REPORT: The Truth About Plug-in Cars "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a2098/4221621/>