Top Gear TV Star Tanner Foust to Host and Coach Ford Focus Global Test Drive Participants

Dearborn, Mich., Jan. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

• Rallyist, stunt driver, drift champion and television personality Tanner Foust will help host the Ford Focus Global Test Drive event, Feb. 18-20, 2011 near Madrid, Spain, coaching consumer test drivers in the 2012 Ford Focus

• The National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA) near Madrid will be the location for this first-ever event

• Participants in Focus Global Test Drive – a unique opportunity for social media mavens – will start more than a car by raising funds for their preferred charity

Ford confirmed today that bloggers and consumers attending the Ford Focus Global Test Drive next month in Madrid will be greeted, hosted and coached by the versatile Tanner Foust, HISTORY television personality on the American edition of Top Gear. Foust brings a wealth of experience to the Global Test Drive program, with stunt driving, rally competition, three X Games gold medals and a pair of Formula D drift championships to his credit.

Teaming with 24 Hours of Le Mans, Trans-Am and American Le Mans Series (ALMS) veteran Justin Bell, Foust will host, coach and assist bloggers and consumer participants in the first-ever Focus Global Test Drive program.

Foust and Bell will help host Focus Global Test Drive participants at the National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA), near Madrid. An aeronautical research facility, INTA and its varied surfaces make an ideal location for dynamic driving events.

"Focus Global Test Drive will be a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience for the participants," said Foust. "I'm looking forward to helping these drivers put the next-generation Focus to the test, and to benefit the driver's charities of choice."

At the three-day event, Feb. 18-20, 2011, consumers and bloggers will be able to experience the Ford Focus in a unique new manner. Each challenge and course will highlight the driving dynamics and technologies in the vehicle. And throughout the event, charities will benefit.  

To participate in Focus Global Test Drive, friends and fans from around the world were invited to submit simple video applications explaining why they should be included in this unique behind-the-scenes event. The application process invites prospective test drivers to "start more than a car" by generating the market equivalent of $10,000 for a specific charity of their choice from the categories of hunger, education and environment/sustainability.

With Focus Global Test Drive, there is something for everyone. Ford engineers will get rapid feedback from interested customers and prospects; drivers get a first look at the new car before it goes on sale; friends get to come along for the ride of a lifetime; and deserving charities will benefit in a big way.

All-new Ford Focus

The all-new Ford Focus is the result of a global product development program bringing together Ford's best engineers and technologies from around the world. A global Ford nameplate, Focus will be nearly identical in all 122 world markets in which it will eventually be sold, with 80 percent parts commonality.

Focus goes on sale in markets around the world early this year.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 163,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com.

SOURCE Ford Motor Company