Electric Ford Focus lands gig with Drew Barrymore on 'Leno'

DETROIT -- Although electric cars won't be hitting dealer lots any time soon, automakers are working hard to get customers accustomed to the idea of driving without gasoline engines. That's why on Sept. 18, you'll see Drew Barrymore race an all-electric Ford Focus as part of her visit with Jay Leno during the first week of his new prime-time show on NBC.

For the rest of the year, celebrities will compete for the best lap times in the special Focus provided by Ford. The setup is similar to the popular celeb racing feature on the United Kingdom car show Top Gear.

Ford won't have an electric Focus until 2011, but it hopes the Leno feature will show that electric cars can be fun mainstream vehicles. Or at least not scary.

Nancy Gioia, director of hybrid vehicle programs for Ford, says consumers have big concerns. One is price, which by some estimates could be $10,000 higher than a gasoline-fueled car. Consumers also worry they'll run out of juice while driving, don't know where they'll recharge and aren't sure about reliability.

Being on Leno's show will get the conversation rolling, Gioia says. "It opens up the dialogue to the next step. Because if (electric cars are) only seen as quirky or off the beaten path, it's really hard to get people" excited.

General Motors, which promises to have the plug-in electric Chevrolet Volt on the market by the end of 2010, also has been trying to raise awareness. GM touts the car on its Chevrolet website and encourages consumers to "become a fan" of the car on Facebook.

"If we walked into the showroom in 2011 with very little lead time, some segments of the population would have a tough time understanding what these vehicles can do," says Rob Peterson, a spokesman for GM. "You want people to understand that it's … a vehicle capable of being your primary vehicle."

Still, marketing may not be enough to sway opinions on electric vehicles, says Rebecca Lindland, an analyst at IHS Global Insight. With low gas prices, people aren't motivated to buy alternative-energy cars, she says.