The Ford Focus Electric makes its Motor City debut

The new Ford Focus Electric made its formal debut at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show but this electric 5-door makes its auto show debut at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show in Cobo hall. In addition to having a new Focus Electric to look at with its Aston Martin-like front end treatment and unique illuminated charging door trim, Ford offers a chance to experience the acceleration of this new electric vehicle.

The massive Ford display at the 2011 NAIAS allows enough room for a large, elevated test track with a set of dynamometer rollers at the highest point. Throughout the day, the Focus Electric would pull to the lower end of the track where it picked up passengers and it would drive up to the rollers; stopping before running from 0-45 miles per hour with the huge LED screen in the background displaying the speeds for all to see.

The Focus Electric looks great on paper; with an 84mph top speed, an expected 1 eMPG (electric car equivalent to miles per gallon) improvement over the Chevy Volt, a full charge in half the time of the Nissan Leaf and most interestingly, an automated charging system from Microsoft that helps to keep electric costs down…but many consumers with no electric car experience wonder how fast (or slow) these new vehicles are. This acceleration demo area showed that the Focus Electric provides plenty of get-up-and-go for the average driver while creating no harmful emissions.

Ford expects the new Focus Electric to reach showrooms by 2013 and when it does, it will provide some major competition for the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf that current dominate the electric car segment. Check out the gallery below for a closer look at the new Ford Focus Electric at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show!

Other 2011 Detroit Auto Show News:
Ford shows off Explorer, Taurus SHO Police Interceptor models at 2011 Detroit Auto Show
Nissan Leaf tucked away at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show
Video of Need for Speed Shift 2 Unleashed from the 2011 Detroit Auto Show
GM Cars at 2011 Detroit Auto Show Not Labeled Properly