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Cato: Kirk Kerkorian recently bought up about 5% of Ford's common stock. I wonder if he took a look at Ford's sales first. Overall they are a mess, with market share still sliding. Except for the Focus compact. It's a surprising hit.

Vaughan: It doesn't surprise me. Been to a gas pump lately? The Focus is a small car with decent fuel economy, and it has an updated design and an affordable price.

Cato: That's true, but the Focus is not going to fix what ails Ford.

Vaughan: Joe Henrichs says it's going to help. He was all happy about the Focus when we were in Ford's world headquarters in Dearborn last week. Joe's the former Ford of Canada CEO and is now the head of Ford's global manufacturing. While we were with Joe the big boss, CEO Alan Mulally, popped in.

Cato: He was really there to remind Joe not to be late for the weekly senior managers' meeting. One of the assistants at Ford later mentioned Mulally has habit of kissing people on the forehead as a sign of encouragement and approval.

Vaughan: Fortunately he didn't plant one on me. There are all sorts of ways to run a company, Cato. Kissing employees is, apparently, one of them. Selling cars is far simpler — put a good price on a stylish, reliable, well-equipped car and away they go out of dealerships.

Cato: Ford has done that with the Focus. It is now the 10th best-selling car in Canada and sales in the U.S. were up 23 per cent for the first quarter. In the U.S., the Focus is No. 3 in sales, behind the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.

The Focus is a hit, even though the basic mechanical bits and pieces haven't changed in more than five years. The Focus is an old car other than the face lift and that Sync device that ties together all the car's electronic gizmos.

Heck, top Ford designer Peter Horbury says he did the Focus redesign for 2008 by staying within a quarter inch of the old design. There is nothing new besides the sheet metal and an upgraded interior.

Vaughan: Yes, but the starting price of $17,399 for the base sedan is pretty good. And Ford is clearly doing something right on the quality side of things. Consumer Reports says their quality is the best of the Detroit auto makers and rapidly closing in on the best in the industry, Toyota. Joe was bragging about that too.

Cato: We're here to talk deals and Focus pricing is just the start of things. Ford has another $850 discount, a factory-to-dealer rebate, on the table. And Ford will give buyers 0.0 per cent financing for up to five years. All that adds up to a good deal.

Vaughan: But Ford needs to get someone other than a current Ford owner to buy one. Look at the Power Information Data below. The top three models traded in for a new Focus are 1) another Focus, 2) a Ford Taurus and, 3) a Ford Escort. Toyota and Honda owners are not giving the Focus a look.

If Ford's turnaround is to gain traction, if Kerkorian is going to make a killing on his investment, then Ford needs to connect with non-Ford owners.

Cato: I agree. We met Mulally and Henrichs on a fact-finding trip to Detroit. We were there for a week to get a handle on the state of Detroit's car business. I am not optimistic. Focus sales aside, it was all pretty gloomy.

Vaughan: The struggling U.S. economy has knocked consumers out of big profitable cars and SUVs into affordable, fuel-efficient compacts. That's helped the Focus. But unfortunately it's all that Ford has to sell in that segment until the Fiesta arrives in 2010.

Cato: But for now the Focus is a deal that even Kirk Kerkorian might appreciate.

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2008 Ford Focus (sedan only)

Buyer's Age Range:

• 16-34 years: 22.8%
• 35-54 years: 37.1%
• 55+ years: 40.1%

Gender ratio:

• Female: 46.5%
• Male: 53.5%

Type of sale:

• Cash/non-dealer financing: 9.0%
• Finance: 56.0%
• Lease: 35.1%

Most popular colours

1. Blue
2. Silver
3. Black

Vehicle price: $19,768 (does not include taxes, license or title fees)

Days to turn: 39

Trade ins: 22.4% (does not include lease returns)

Top three trade ins:

1. Ford Focus
2. Ford Taurus
3. Ford Escort

Average monthly payments: (includes PST & GST)

• Lease (48 month term): $359
• Finance (60 month term): $383

Source: Power Information Network