Set to begin in May, just as the Ford Focus Electric becomes available across multiple US states, a new reality competition series called ‘Plugged In’ will be broadcast exclusively on Yahoo! Screen (screen.yahoo.com)-Yahoo!’s video destination.
Plugged In features two-person teams competing against each other in a series of challenges in the hope of winning a Focus Electric. Viewers will be encouraged to share comments about each episode and upload photos of favourite places in their hometown to a special Flickr group page created for the programme. Magical Elves, an Emmy Award-winning production company, is producing the series.
Plugged In competition locations include Los Angeles; New York; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco; Seattle; Austin, Texas; Atlanta; Raleigh, N.C.; and Boston. A celebrity, serving as the hometown’s personal insider, kicks off each episode and provides clues that require contestants to complete various tasks and challenges while exploring and discovering hidden cultural gems and “best of” locations in their city. The winning teams in each city move on to participate in the finale event in Los Angeles, where they will compete with teams from other regions for the chance to win the Ford Focus Electric.
Purported to be ‘America’s most fuel-efficient five-seat car’, the new Focus Electric features a 23kWh lithium ion battery and is capable of an equivalent of 105mpg (EPA rating) on a combined cycle. The model has a top speed of 84 mph and can be fully recharged in around three to four hours using a 240 volt charge station. It won’t arrive in Europe until 2013.