In a bizarre bid for creative marketing placement, Ford has arranged for the 2009 Ford Focus to "debut on "American Idol" on Fox on Wednesday," according to a press release from the automaker.  The Focus will appear in a "45-second music video…featuring this season's remaining contestants."  We assume they'll do their best to sing the praises of the barely refreshed econobox.  The 2008 edition finished 20th out of 29 affordable small cars in our rankings, and the 2009 isn't expected to be much better.

Edmunds Inside Line reports, "Ford has been throwing millions of dollars in marketing cash at American Idol since the hit show first began seven seasons ago, but this is the first time the automaker will take advantage of the show's 20 million viewers by unveiling a new model on live television."

A few in the automotive press have had an early look at the car…and most of them turn into Simon Cowell at the sight of it.

Autoblog reports, "Ford has heard all the criticism thrown at the 2008 Focus for its electric shaver looks, and in a very unusual move has solicited feedback from Focus fans and tweaked only the Coupe for 2009 and not the Sedan."  They haven't changed much, though.  The 2009 Focus coupe "features a front end with a larger lower air intake that's supposedly inspired by the new Fiesta, and those garish faux fender vents are now completely gone."  Mechanically, the car has not changed much.  "Ford did give the new coupe a new freer-breathing exhaust on models equipped with the five-speed manual to free up some horsepower, and also added a new 4.2 final drive ratio to make off-the-line acceleration a bit quicker."

Jalopnik doesn't have much hope for the '09 Focus, either.  "Although Ford fixed a couple of the most egregious design flaws for the '09," they write, "it only serves to show just how much of a mess the rest of the design truly is."

Salvation for the Focus will finally come in 2010.  Or maybe 2011.  For five years, the automotive press has been begging Ford to bring its European-model Focus to the U.S.  Nearly everyone who has driven both says the Euro-spec Focus is a much better car.  Last month, reports emerged that the automaker will finally do that -- in two years, or perhaps three. 

Before then, we are likely to see the new Fiesta, a much better entry-level car that, frankly, makes the Focus seem extraneous.  Without help from Simon.

Compare the Focus to other affordable small cars with U.S. News car rankings and reviews

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