DETROIT – Ford Motor Co., which used to make most of its money on trucks and sports-utility vehicles, is making a big bet on small cars.

The embattled company next month will launch a redesigned version of its Focus compact, and then offer a glimpse of new pint-sized model to follow about two years later.
At the Frankfurt auto show in mid-September, Ford will unveil a concept car called the Verve, a sporty subcompact that's smaller than the Focus. A model based on the Verve should arrive in U.S. showrooms in 2008 or 2009.

Ford, which posted a $2.8 billion operating loss in 2006, is hoping that spiffing up its small car line up with help the company back market share down the road. Like General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, Ford has steadily ceded market share over the last 20 years as customers defected to foreign makes like Toyota and Honda. All three companies have had little or no success enticing those import buyers to come back to domestic vehicles.