Ford is inviting potential customers across the country to put the automaker’s fuel efficient EcoBoost-powered vehicles to the test against its competitors while also getting the opportunity to drive the sporty Fiesta ST.

While we tend to focus on the companies hybrid models on this website, Ford is also making efforts to reduce fuel consumption on its regular ICE engines. One way for the company to do so is by turbocharging small engines in order to deliver the power previously provided by bigger engines.

The Ford EcoBoost Challenge will allow people to drive the Ford Fusion and Escape head-to-head against the competition while experiencing how EcoBoost technology delivers both fuel economy and power, according to Ford.

Participants will also have a chance to drive the all-new Fiesta ST, before being available in dealerships.

The tour, beginning in this month, will head to 13 markets nationally.

“Ford is delivering on its promise to give fuel-efficiency-minded customers the power of choice, by offering a lineup that includes five electrified vehicles, two plug-in hybrids and eight vehicles available with EcoBoost Technology,” said David Mondragon, general marketing manager for Ford and Lincoln. “Throughout this tour, we will let consumers experience the technology that helps deliver better fuel economy and engaging driving than the competition.”

The EcoBoost Challenge events will take place on Saturdays in June, July, August and September in each market. Events will include an ST Performance Academy, a hyper-mile challenge for Ford hybrid vehicles and head-to-head competitive drives on an EcoBoost challenge course.

Pre-registration is live at fordecoboostchallengedrive.com.

Space is limited and available on first-come, first-served basis.

Events will open at 9 a.m. and run all day through 6 p.m. in most markets. Locations and dates are:

• Boston, Gillette Stadium, June 22
• Washington, D.C., FedEx Field, June 29
• Chicago, Arlington Park, June 29
• San Francisco, Golden Gate Fields, July 13
• Los Angeles, Rose Bowl, July 20
• New York City, Citi Field, August 17
• Charlotte, Charlotte Motor Speedway, August 24
• Atlanta, Turner Field, September 7
• Dallas, Cowboys Stadium, September 7
• Orlando, Orange County Convention Center, September 14
• Houston, Sam Houston Race Park, September 14
• Miami, Gulfstream Park, September 21
• Minneapolis/St. Paul, Canterbury Park, September 21

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Ford said it will add an additional 200,000 units of annual straight-time capacity this year.

In addition, Ford said it will produce an extra 40,000 units by idling select plants for only one week during what has been the traditional two-week summer shutdown.

“To meet surging customer demand for our top-selling cars, utilities and trucks, we are continuing to run our North American facilities at full manned capacity, and we will add 200,000 units of annual straight-time capacity this year,” said Jim Tetreault, vice president of North America Manufacturing. “Approximately 75 percent of our plants are running at a three-crew, three-shift or four-crew pattern in order to ensure we’re getting more of our products into dealerships.”

The 200,000 annual straight-time capacity additions this year will come from Chicago Assembly Plant, Flat Rock Assembly Plant and Kansas City Assembly Plant, including increased production of some of Ford’s best-selling vehicles like the Ford Explorer, Ford Fusion (hybrid and non-hybrid) and Ford F-Series.

The increased production at Kansas City Assembly Plant with the addition of a third crew, which Ford announced in early May, is included in the 200,000 increase.

Additionally, 20 plants, including six assembly plants, will take a reduced summer shutdown this year.

The assembly plants taking one week of shutdown are Chicago Assembly, Cuautitlán Assembly, Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly, Kentucky Truck, Michigan Assembly and Oakville Assembly.

The Michigan Assembly Plant is the plant where the Focus, Focus electric as well as the hybrid and non-hybrid versions of the C-Max are assembled.

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Ford’s products are well featured at the top as the Ford F-Series pickup comes in third and the Ford Fiesta comes in as the best-selling subcompact.

Sales of the compact Focus totaled 1,020,410 cars worldwide according to the automotive data and trends forecasting firm.

Market gains for Focus were driven by consumer demand in China and the United States.

China registrations were up 51 percent last year, with the market responsible for just more than one out of four Focus vehicles sold globally according to Polk vehicle registration data.

U.S. Focus sales were up 40 percent in 2012, also contributing to the car’s global growth.

In addition to holding the title of 2012 world’s best-selling vehicle overall, Polk data also confirms the Ford Fiesta earned the top spot as the best-selling subcompact car globally, with 723,130 registrations last year.

Together, registrations of Ford’s small cars – Fiesta and Focus – totaled 1,743,540 vehicles in 2012, according to Polk.

“Focus and Fiesta represent the culmination of our One Ford global product strategy,” said Jim Farley, Ford executive vice president, global marketing, sales and service and Lincoln. “Our global products are resonating with consumers – especially in the best-selling, most competitive segments – with their unique combination of fuel efficiency, high quality, rich content and fun-to-drive personalities. Through One Ford, we’re able to bring economies of scale and fantastic value to customers all around the world.”

Global new vehicle registrations for F-Series totaled 785,630 trucks last year, putting it in the No. 3 spot among all vehicles sold worldwide. F-Series has been America’s best-selling pickup for 36 straight years.

“Since its launch in China in late March of last year, Focus sales continue to strengthen, with the car now ranking as the best-selling passenger car in China in 2012 for the first time ever,” Farley said. “With additional manufacturing capacity added last year, we now have a tremendous opportunity to further strengthen our global small car sales in 2013, with sales off to a very strong start already.”

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It’s official. The small car wars have begun. It started with the introduction of both the 2011 Chevy Cruze and 2011 Hyundai Elantra last year—of which the Elantra is a truly compelling package. But with the 2012 Focus—available in early 2011—Ford is bringing some real competition for the seeming-to-have-it-all Elantra. Both cars offer incredible fuel efficiency in a good-looking and well-designed package, laden with some seriously cool technology.

Today, a market that for years has been known as the resting ground of uninspired econoboxes, is lively with competition—even the venerable Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic will be getting much needed refreshes to maintain competitiveness. Whereas before the small car market was content to just limp along with anemic sales, it’s current vibrancy is being pushed along by rising gas prices, increased environmental awareness and looming stringent fuel economy regulations.

And the 2012 Ford Focus is perhaps the most interesting of these new small car offerings to date. In my 2011 Elantra review, I said the Elantra was the equivalent of an automotive Unicorn. And if that’s the case, the 2012 Ford Focus is a Unicorn with demon horns. Let me explain.

It Can Turn You Into a Race Car Driver, But Sips Gas With the Best of Them

The 2012 Focus comes with a group of standard features—torque vectoring control chief among them—that make even the least confident drivers among us feel like they know exactly what they’re doing when they hit a corner at high speeds. What is torque vectoring control? Suffice it to say that it uses the car’s brakes to apply more force to the inside wheels in a corner, with grip subsequently being transferred to the outside wheels. The result? A driving experience normally reserved for high-performance motoring. Seriously, it’s that fun.

Fun to Drive and 40 miles per gallon.

While torque vectoring can be given the lion’s share of the credit for the Focus’ driving dynamics, the vehicle also benefits from beefy front and rear stabilizer bars, available four-wheel disc brakes, and a substantial 160 horsepower 2.0-liter engine.

When I had the car full throttle in the canyons surrounding Malibu last week, it took a hold of my wild side and pushed me to take it to the limits. I was entering corners cautioned for 25 mph at 50 mph and hardly slowed down, coming out the other side feeling energized by the experience. I did this corner after corner and every time the result was the same.

And while performance is normally associated with lower fuel economy, the 2012 Focus is estimated to return 40 mpg on the highway (official EPA fuel economy hasn’t been released yet). Don’t get me wrong, if you drive this car like I did for a couple of hours on windy back roads, you likely won’t get anywhere near 40 mpg. But when driven as you would normally drive a car on a day-to-day basis, you’ll find it behaves like a docile puppy and sips fuel in a miserly fashion. With a standard louvered grille, advanced engine technology and low wind resistance, the Focus is designed for it.

The Opening Bid is Incredibly Reasonable, But it Tops Out at The High End

While the 2011 Elantra has Value with a capital “V” written all over it, the Focus’ value is in the fact that it is far more customizable, can be loaded with a bewildering array of advanced technology options, and is available as both a sedan and hatchback. Sure, the low end Focus starts at around $16,000, but when you fill the hatchback with every doodad possible you can expect it to cost around $28,000. That seems to be where things are headed and the market keeps telling automakers that it wants the ability to load a car to the gills. In fact, Ford says that most of their buyers opt for a significant amount of upgrades—and car companies have to make money somewhere.

Standard at $16,000, you’ll get the sedan version with a manual transmission, electronic stability control with torque vectoring, front disc/rear drum brakes, and most of the things Americans expect as basic features in a modern vehicle—including power windows, telescoping steering wheel, A/C, tire pressure monitoring and remote keyless entry.

From there on up you add a ridiculous list of equipment, so that at about $28,0000 your Focus hatchback includes a massive 8-inch touch screen with navigation and the MyFord Touch driver interface, a 10 speaker (including subwoofer) 355-watt Sony sound system, a moonroof, back-up camera, sport tuned suspension, HD radio, Sirius satellite radio, push-button start, cruise control, four-wheel disc brakes, 18″ wheels, rain-sensing wipers, power driver’s seat, heated front seats, and an AUTOMATED parallel parking system that parks the car without you touching the wheel in less than 24 seconds.

It’s Comfortable, Stylish and Functional

The 2012 Focus seats fit me like a glove. Granted, I’m not a large person, but even more expensive cars struggle to make a two hour drive without starting to cause stiffness. The dash was easy to read and pleasing on the eyes and all the various buttons and dials were positioned for easy reach.

Since Ford made this Focus to be distributed around the world, the styling was developed in a way that the whole world could enjoy. With what Ford calls “kinetic design” (similar to Hyundai’s “fluidic sculpture”), the designers gave the 2012 Focus an understated modern look reminiscent of the British racecars of old. Between the sedan and the hatchback, the hatchback does the best job of looking good. The interior is also modern without being over the top.

All that style and comfort is enhanced by the fact that the Focus is also an incredibly functional car—especially given that it’s available as a hatchback. The hatchback has over 114 cubic feet of total interior volume, of which more than 90 is reserved for passengers—keep in mind it’s a hatchback and that 90 can expand or contract based on folded second row seats. For perspective, the 2011 Toyota Camry has a total of 116.4 cubic feet of interior volume.

Wrapping it Up

If these new entrants into the small car arena are any indication, the next few years should bring small car cutthroat competition like never before—and the 2012 Focus is poised to be one of the most popular. While it’s not the most affordable small car out there, it brings so much technology to the table that it borders on overwhelming the competition with its intellect. And if the intellect doesn’t get you, just throw it into a few corners with wild abandon and you’ll see what I mean.

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During the introduction of the 2012 Focus at the North American International Auto Show last January, Ford hinted that highway fuel economy could be in the 40 mpg range. Now, Ford has confirmed—sort of—that, indeed, the Focus would deliver 40 mpg highway mileage.

Actually, the press release said that it “will deliver a projected 40 mpg highway.” Car companies use words like “projected” and “estimated” when they are certain that fuel economy number(s) will be confirmed by the EPA. In other words, 40 mpg highway will be on the new Focus window sticker.

The other news is, the 2.0-liter in-line four engine can also swallow E85 fuel, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. While the 40 mpg will be reduced 10 to 20 percent when burning the mixture of gasoline and the corn-based ethanol, the price of E85 can make an attractive alternative. The national average price for E85 according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report is $2.40 per gallon for E85 versus $2.81 for regular gasoline, a 17 percent difference. If you live in Iowa, however, E85 can cost as low as $1.99 per gallon; Texas, $1.68. (Of course, E85 has less energy content than pure dino-juice.)

Fuel Injection. Less Weight.

How does a compact car laden with high-tech electronics achieve 40 mpg with an automatic transmission—yes, an automatic?

Most of the credit goes to the engine. Rated at 160 horsepower and 146 pounds-feet of torque, up from 140 and 136 respectively in the 2011 Focus, the new dual overhead camshaft four uses direct injection (DI) that delivers the precise amount of fuel directly into each cylinder’s combustion chamber. The fuel injection system works in concert with twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT). Ti-VCT adjusts both the intake and exhaust camshafts for optimum performance and efficiency.

Powertrain engineers also employed “lightweighting” techniques to reduce engine weight. The engine block, cylinder head and oil pan—traditionally the heaviest engine components—are aluminum castings. Pistons are cast aluminum as well, and composite material is employed to keep intake manifold weight to an absolute minimum.

When it arrives early next year, the new Focus will compete with the top-selling Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. The sedan version will have a base price of $16,720, plus $750 destination charges, while the 5-door hatch will start at $18,065. For pre-orders placed before February 28, 2011, Ford offers a $500 Focus Technology Rebate.

The 40 mpg club is growing. The Focus joins its smaller stable mate, the Fiesta, the Chevrolet Cruze Eco and the upcoming 2012 Hyundai Elantra.

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“We’re changing from a company focused mainly on trucks and SUVs to a company with a balanced product lineup that includes even more high-quality, fuel-efficient small cars, hybrids and all-electric vehicles,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s president of The Americas. “As customers move to more fuel-efficient vehicles, we’ll be there with more of the products they really want.”

The cornerstone of Ford’s strategic plan is to leverage global assets to bring six world-class small cars to the American market by the end of 2012. The company plans to introduce its next-generation Ford Focus global small car in 2010—and a battery-electric version of the Focus—in 2011. The Focus electric car is being developed in partnership with Magna International, a major global parts supplier.

Ford’s product plans also include a next-generation hybrid vehicle and a plug-in car in 2012.

From Swords to Ploughshares, From SUVs to EVs

In total, Ford is converting three truck and SUV plants to car plants—Michigan Assembly, Cuautitlan Assembly in Mexico, and Louisville, Ky. “This is about investing in modern, efficient and flexible American manufacturing,” said Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally. “It is about fuel economy and the electrification of vehicles.”

Along with the physical transformation at Michigan Assembly Plant, the UAW and Ford are working on a framework for higher levels of productivity. “The UAW is a key partner in enabling us to build these world-class vehicles competitively in the United States,” said Joe Hinrichs, group vice president, Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs.

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