As if Americans needed another reminder of how cash-strapped Ford's North American division was - and of the hot, second-generation Focus tearing up the sales charts in Europe - the company glued some strips of chrome onto the US version and made it Escort-frumpy.

Never mind that this is an eight-year-old car dressed up with an entertainment system and multi-color interior lighting. Or that Euro Focus models run toe-to-toe against Subaru WRXs and Mitsubishi Evos on the street - and can beat the Japanese compacts on rally circuits.

Americans, apparently, don't know the difference. The sales say otherwise.