Ford small-car push may get buyers to pay more

Ford Motor Co. says it improved the redesigned Focus compact with safety and fuel-saving features like those found on Porsche SE sports coupes. Now the automaker must persuade consumers to pay more for a small car.

The Focus, which is being introduced today at the Detroit auto show, is a pillar of Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally's bet that U.S. buyers will embrace small cars equipped with the amenities more typically found in larger models such as sport- utility vehicles.

Expanding the small-car lineup means Ford will have to charge higher prices to earn a return from the kinds of autos that have historically been unprofitable, said John Wolkonowicz, an analyst at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts.

"Ford will have to condition the American car buyer into thinking smaller is better, or this business model will not work,” Wolkonowicz said. "It's a huge challenge.”

The Focus will lose its status as Ford's smallest offering when the Fiesta subcompact goes on sale in the U.S. this year. That shift will force Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford to charge more for the Focus once the new version reaches dealers in 2011, Wolkonowicz said.

Prices for the Focus now start at $16,985, according to Ford. The Fiesta, which includes seven air bags, will sell from $13,995 to $20,375.

On Display

The Focus will be among the first models unveiled at the North American International Auto Show's media days, which open today and end tomorrow. A variety of small cars and electric vehicles will be on display as automakers shift away from light trucks after a decade in which crude oil prices more than tripled.

Federal pressure also is shaping the industry's efforts to offer more small autos, with President Barack Obama's 2009 announcement of standards for greenhouse-gas emissions and the first boost in fuel-economy standards in decades.