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General Motors is making a big fuss over the wrong vehicle.

The company wants us to believe that the Chevy Volt will transform the company, eliminate global warming and achieve world peace. That isn't going to happen, for reasons I'll enumerate in a moment.

First, I'd like to introduce you to GM's real savior: the humble Chevy Cruze, the compact car that replaces the Cobalt in 2010. Let's compare.

The Volt is a compact car that could cost as much as $40,000, unless Congress scrounges up some subsidies.

By contrast, the unassuming Cruze will sell for a bit more than the Cobalt, which carries a transaction price of $15,573, according to J.D. Power's PIN data.

The Cruze will have a stylish exterior, a nicely equipped interior and a price tag that reflects a premium small car rather than an econobox. And it will achieve outstanding fuel economy — perhaps 40-plus mpg — with its 1.4-liter turbocharged engine.

Yes, I know that the Cruze isn't as sexy as the Volt. And I know that the Volt is supposed to be a halo car that re-establishes GM as a technology leader.

But we've been down this road before. GM doesn't need a halo car. It needs a car — a small car — that can make money. If GM can't learn to make money on small cars, it won't survive.

Now, this isn't one of those either-or dilemmas. General Motors is moving ahead with both the Volt and Cruze. But I get a queasy feeling that GM has painted itself into a corner by generating so much hype for a car that is too limited for most consumers.

Last week, I learned that GM wants to optimize the Volt for motorists who would use it for relatively short daily hauls.

Frank Weber, the Volt's chief engineer, let slip that the vehicle's gasoline engine will not recharge the batteries during daily operations. The only way to recharge those lithium ion batteries is by plugging them into an outlet.

Now, this doesn't mean that you'll be stranded by the roadside if the batteries run down. Once you've driven 40 miles or so, the gasoline engine will generate electricity to power the car. But after the first 40 miles, the batteries might as well be a paperweight.

Weber says GM wants to ensure that the Volt's battery pack will be discharged at the end of each trip so that motorists will plug it in at night. A three-hour nightly recharge would cost 50 to 80 cents — admittedly a hell of a bargain at a time when gasoline costs upward of $4 a gallon.

What's the trade-off? You have a vehicle optimized for short hauls. No problem, says Weber. About 80 percent of American motorists drive no more than 40 miles a day.

But GM's engineering decision complicates the hybrid's no fuss, no muss reputation.

If you can't plug in your vehicle at night, that high-tech battery pack will be as useful as an anchor for your bass boat. Given a choice, I'd pick the Cruze.