Well, since we have an official Volt thread.. I'll combine all of my thoughts on the Volt.
First of all, despite GM's overall attitude on the Volt, I believe the design team behind it is actually doing an excellent job and they are actually very passionate about the product. In many ways, this was also the case with the EV-1 from years ago. So, as a result, I believe the Volt will be a well-made, well-designed vehicle.
GM, on the other hand, has taken a luke-warm approach to this vehicle at best. They know it isn't and won't be profitable to them, especially in the short-term. From a financial prospective, they'd much rather be selling big trucks and SUVs because the profit margin on those is much better. For every Volt they sell to somebody, that is a potential loss of a sale of an Escalade or Tahoe or something. So that is the reason for the limited production. However, much of the profit issue is their own fault because they had to buy outsourced batteries which they are not getting nearly as good of a price as Nissan gets manufacturing their own batteries. Had GM kept up with its EV-1 program instead of burying it, they would be the leader right now and they would have a profitable electric car. I suspect this would be the case even if they were using the NiMh style batteries from the EV-1 (assuming they hadn't sold the patent to big-oil)
So, I believe the Volt will be a stop-gap for people who want an electric car but can't drive one due to the distance they drive, or for those who have range-anxiety about a pure electric. Even though I prefer (and have pre-ordered) a Leaf, I still think the Volt is an important part of the recipe for eventually breaking America's oil addiction. Unfortunately, at 30,000 per year, it won't be making much of an impact.
Another consideration GM has to make is the warranty. They aren't 100% sure how reliable this car will be, especially the batteries. What if they had a high failure rate under warranty, when these cars hit 1 year old? That would be a substantial loss on their part to replace them. So by limiting production that also limits their unknown liability.
However, you never know, GM may change their minds. If they are able to get the production costs down enough to make a profit, and the batteries seem to be holding up well, then they could always ramp up production.
They are also going to have to compete with Toyota soon. Since Toyota will be releasing a Plug-in version of the Prius. Although the Prius won't have nearly the same all-electric range (I'm hearing 12 to 14 miles EV range..) it will still be the same target market. Even 12 miles isn't that bad, though. Most people can make 12-miles to work, and if one could recharge at work then it would still be possible to stay gas-free most of the time. Just think if all cars in the USA could drive the first 12 miles on battery power alone. How much gas would we save as a country?