According to the hype, the Chevrolet Volt, GM’s first mass-market electric car, is going to save General Motors, cash-strapped consumers and the environment.

But first, it has to figure out how to make some money.

auto industry analysts warn that the Volt, often touted as the savior of GM, could get trapped between the Obama administration’s environmental policy goals and the dire business realities of the bankruptcy court trying to salvage the fallen auto giant.