Chevy Spark overtaking Volt as GM’s savior amid bankruptcy?

Ask most drivers if they’d prefer to stop buying gas and the vast majority would say yes. That premise is what’s driven buzz about the Chevy Volt for the last couple of years. But now amid bankruptcy, GM is looking for quick ways to upscale sales by appealing to large audiences of people and the company is hanging its hat on the success of the Chevy Spark.

That’s an important acknowledgement on GM’s part because the Chevy Volt will appeal to a wealthier segment with its price tag hovering around $40,000. No pricing for the Chevy Spark has been announced yet but the size and feature set of the vehicle hints at a much more affordable tier.

Chevrolet isn’t providing many details about the Spark at this point, only that it will be available in 2011 and that “. . . its true mission is to combine multifunctionality with extreme fuel economy thanks to its well-designed 4-cylinder gasoline engine,” according to a company splash page.

As GM entered bankruptcy this week there was some speculation that the Chevy Volt program would suffer, but Jon Lauckner, GM’s VP of product development says the Volt program won’t be affected at all, according to GM Volt. That’s good news but it will take time for the market to create the kind of economies of scale that would make the car affordable for an average American.

The Chevy Spark has the potential to appeal to people now who are looking for fuel efficient, durable car at a low price. As 9 of GMs plants close due to low demand for its current product mix, several more are on hold. Plants in Tennessee and Michigan are jockeying for the production of the Chevy Spark, which would preserve some local jobs.

Of course, with GM largely owned by the American people right now, those sorts of decisions may become more politically motivated than fact-driven. We’ll be watching.