Ford to Plug Electric Car on ‘The Jay Leno Show’

ABC's Tahman Bradley reports from Detroit: The first electric vehicles in North America aren’t due in dealer showrooms until late 2010 but that hasn’t stopped the U.S. auto makers from aggressively marketing the new cars.  Ford Motor Company will plug its battery electric Ford Focus vehicle as part of a running gag on comedian Jay Leno's new program, the auto maker announced Wednesday. The specially built Focus will be driven by celebrity guests competing in a “Green Car Challenge” on NBC’s new “The Jay Leno Show,” which is set to debut on Monday.  A different version of the Focus goes on sale to the public in 2011. The segment featuring the Focus will run during the entire first season of “Leno”, and Ford hopes the primetime exposure will help ease customers into the electric-car market.  "Having our Focus battery electric vehicle on the show is a great way to demonstrate how fun to drive these cars really can be," Lisa Drake, chief engineer, Ford Hybrid and Battery Electric Vehicle Programs said in a statement. "Beyond the immediate excitement of driving, it demonstrates that Ford is investing in this technology and that we're committed to electric vehicles." Actress Drew Barrymore will be the first celebrity behind the wheel of one of the vehicles when she appears on the program September 18.  Barrymore and other celebrities will race for the best lap times on a special track in a format similar to the BBC program Top Gear.  The Leno partnership is a big boon for Ford which will soon compete with General Motors for dollars from electric car buyers.  GM’s Chevy Volt has already gained enormous media attention.   The car is expected to travel up to 40 miles on electricity from a single battery charge, and its gas engine, GM says, will get 230 miles per gallon. A big car aficionado, Jay Leno traveled to Detroit in April to lift the spirits of residents who’ve suffered through the faltering U.S. auto industry with a series of free comedy shows. Leno called the shows a “Comedy Stimulus Plan." Michigan led the nation in April with an unemployment rate of 12.9 percent. That number has risen to 15 percent today.   Ford plans to introduce at least four electric vehicles in North America by 2012, starting with a battery-powered version of its Transit Connect commercial van due out next year.