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Ford Focus

Ford Focus

First-half sales, 2008: 123,449
First-half sales, 2007: 96,732
Increase: 27.6%

The popularity of the redesigned 2008 Ford Focus has taken Ford (F) by surprise. The base four-cylinder gets an EPA-estimated 24 mpg city/35 mpg highway. The gas crisis has forced Ford to cut truck production, but Focus production is maxed out this year at 245,000. That's up 28% from 2007, the biggest increase Ford can manage. Next year, Ford expects to build 280,000 Focuses, said George Pipas, Ford U.S. sales analysis manager. "The Focus has become a best-selling domestic car to retail customers in the U.S., much to our surprise—pleasantly, for sure," Pipas said in a July 1 conference call.