DETROIT — The party for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt was barely over on Tuesday before General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz hustled to defend its controversial looks from his bully pulpit, the corporate GM FastLane blog.'The Volt has been called 'vaporware' by some members of the media,' Lutz said. 'We've heard executives from other manufacturers tell the press that the battery technology won't work. We've even been accused of using the Volt to 'greenwash' our image.'He adds: 'The vehicle's design has come under some criticism, most of it, to me, unwarranted. The challenge to the designers wasn't to design the most beautiful car imaginable and accept the compromises you have to make to do so. It was, make no compromise to fuel efficiency and electric range, and then do the most beautiful design possible around those aerodynamic dictates.' GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner acknowledged that the 'auto show concept has been completely redesigned' in his remarks Tuesday prior to the unveiling of the production Volt.If anything, there seemed to be a lack of consensus about the production Volt's design in the national media. CNNMoney.com on Tuesday noted that 'many people posting comments on car blogs have expressed disappointment that the production car does not look as angular and aggressive as the original concept vehicle. 'The majority of are negative,' Lyle Dennis, a New Jersey neurologist who runs the blog GM-Volt.com, said last week. 'A lot of people are saying they're very disappointed and 'take me off the list.' 'But in its reaction to the production Volt on Tuesday, Autoblog said it 'is a much more attractive machine that while different from the concept is still very attractive.' It called the Volt 'something different from the Japanese brand hybrids.'Lutz on GM FastLane insisted: 'So I submit that while it's typically design that makes an emotional connection with buyers, in this case, the Volt is going to be bought for emotional reasons, but it will be for the emotion tied to the technology contained therein.'What this means to you: The jury appears to still be out on the design of the production Volt, despite Lutz's passionate defense of his baby. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent