It's the difference between 'warm tech' and 'cold tech,' the Volt's interior design manager Tim Greig told me Tuesday afternoon as we examined his team's work.

Warm tech welcomes its user; cold tech intimidates them, Greig explained. People don't want a car that scares them.

New take on tradition

Inside the Volt, there's nothing frightening. But there are lots of recognizable features packaged with a new twist. The bright white plastic trim along the center stack is reminiscent of an Apple computer, complete with a 7-inch color touch screen. The buttons are only spots on the dash, activated with a touch of a finger.

The gear shifter sits flush in the slender center stack, with open space behind it. The center console flows all the way back through the second row. Designers had toyed with various ideas on the shifter, Greig said, but ultimately, they stayed true to the Park- Reverse- Neutral- Drive sequence.

Instead of reinventing the gear shifter, they reinvented how it looks -- a wise choice.

'This is not a conservative design,' said Bob Boniface, the director of the E-Flex design studio. 'But it is familiar enough. People have to be able to see themselves driving it.'

I certainly can picture myself on an open road, silently humming along in a pollution-free dream cruise. I just hope it doesn't sound like a golf cart or electric shaver.

The small display screen behind the steering wheel sits where the speedometer and tachometer normally go. In these days of personalization, it's no surprise that drivers can pick and choose what information they wish to see while on the road.

Naturally, there will be Bluetooth connectivity, which allows you to play your personal music device, a navigation system and a hard drive to burn your friends' CDs.

The dual-cockpit design comes out at you in two big curves that swoop past you into the door panels.

And there's lots of space inside the Volt. At 6 feet, I'm not always the easiest man to squeeze into a four-door hatchback. But in the Volt, I fit just as well in the second row as in the front.

Boniface said one reason the Volt only has room for four passengers is the way the batteries are stored in the vehicle. The second row is above the T portion of the pack and if a third seat was installed, designers would have to raise the roofline.

'Rarely do engineers ask me to lower the roofline of any vehicle,' he said, smiling at his Volt as photographers scurried around it.

The reason for the low roof was to improve the car's performance in the wind tunnel, which boosts its mileage on the road.

All about air flow

The exterior of the Volt is all about air flow. That's why the front end was squished compared with the concept.

There are no front corners on the Volt and the external mirrors are mounted on posts off the door, instead of in the corner of the front-door window.

The dual port grille, a trademark of Chevy, is fake. It's not a typical grille at all because it's solid with only a slot cut around for some air flow.

The engine, which will kick in only to recharge the batteries, will be cooled by air coming up from under the bumper. And if you look at the car's backside, there's no exhaust pipe showing, just the reverse lamp.

Of course, there are all the specifications so many GM execs have already touted: the motors with their equivalent of 150 horsepower, the instant torque, and the car that can take people to work and back without ever burning a drop of fossil fuel. All of this is possible in 26 months.

Plans on schedule

During the course of the day, the car wasn't the only thing I noticed. Maybe people were heady with birthday cake, or maybe they were starting to believe.

When the concept arrived in 2007, a lot of promises were made by GM but they came with loads of caveats. 'We're going to really, really, reallytry to have it by 2010,' it sounded like they were saying.

Now, the qualifiers are gone. There are technology problems that still must be addressed and difficult benchmarks to meet.

But GM has pushed through every checkpoint and remains on schedule to deliver a car that is a true game-changer.

'We're going to deliver on the 40 gas-free miles by November 2010,' Chevrolet's general manger Ed Peper said Tuesday afternoon without reservation.

'We don't know in the coming years what exactly will happen with the technology, it could get even better.'