Surprise, surprise, Volt not enough to save GM

In a remarkable statement of the obvious, the federal government has declared that the Chevy Volt is not going to be the savior of General Motors in the short to medium term. Given that everyone at GM has acknowledged that the Volt will be a money-loser at launch, it clearly won't contribute to the bottom line. The audit of the viability plans done by the Presidential task force has indicated that GM has spent too much time and money developing the Volt and its extended range EV technology. This comes as GM has slashed the development budgets of products in the lineup except the Volt. Instead, the auditors have said GM should be focusing on more salable cars. Of course, this comes at the same time that members of Congress are saying that GM should not get any money unless they develop plug-in cars like the Volt. Is it just me, or is there the usual disconnect between politics and reality going on here?

[Source: Detroit News, Automotive News]