Earlier this month, I had the great pleasure of visiting our Ford customers in Europe and attending the Frankfurt Motorshow. What a spectacular event! I have never seen so many cars in my life. It was so interesting to see so many brands -- all of the OEMs did a great job decking out the vehicles! With so many choices, it makes the torturous decision of choosing a car in America seem like a trip through the McDonald’s drive-thru. My colleagues were impressed with the number and variety of compact models available. All the while I was wondering, "Is this really what European Moms drive? Where do you put the soccer stuff? How would you keep three kids from driving you nuts in the back of that car when they are touching each other the whole time?" and lastly, "How much?!"

I decided to look for a vehicle for an American Mom.

The requirements changed as I walked around and raised the bar on expectations and lowered the bar on price. I did not consider many European requirements like CO2 emissions and gas prices. The brand perception was ignored despite my colleagues scoffing at some of my excitement over some of the "lower end" brands. We set the "not to exceed" price point very arbitrarily at 40,000€ (about $60,000 at current conversion rates) which is far above any price that I have ever paid for a car.

I created my own categories for four different awards: Overall Value Leader, Coolest Cargo Area, Best Affordable Interior and American Mom Vehicle. So here's my view.

Overall Value Leader: Renault Dacia Logan
		The Dacia Logan (pronounced Dah-cha) has a low priced MPV and offers the most space for your money. With a starting point of 8,500€, you can get a 5-seater with plenty of leg room, a basic radio and tons of cargo space. A 7-seater is available for a little more money. I thought it was definitely a vehicle after the heart of my frugal brother-in-law. Decked out, it costs 14,000€ and seemed like a perfect fit for young families.

Coolest Cargo Area: Skoda Yeti
This offers the BEST implementation of cargo space I have ever seen. It has a large open space with nifty little gadgets for hanging shopping bags and arranging grocery bags and soccer bags so that the dirty cleats don't touch the bread. It has a neat little cargo area flash light that snaps out and is magnetic so it sticks to the side of the car in case you get a flat.

Best Affordable Interior: Citroen C4 Picasso
		Favorite features include: cup holders and tray tables for the kids, a tiny mirror on the rearview mirror that you can move to see the kids. This would come in handy for catching my son punching his sister. The front window is enormous and offers awesome visibility and extended visors. The Picasso includes a very nice trim, it is very stylish and also roomy.

American Mom Vehicle: Ford Grand C-Max
This is truly an American Mom vehicle! Just like an American minivan, it is affordable (at least from European standards, about $50K). I was glad to see Ford offer this type of vehicle to the European market. I was also very happy to hear that it will be coming to the US. Ford has been missing a minivan here for a long time! All the standard American features are there; roomy, automatic sliding doors (very unusual in Euro vehicles), nice trim, good visibility, navigation system; perfect for a mob of soccer players.

Although it was very exciting to see the stylish Euro cars and all the different varieties of compact cars, I'm glad that I have roomier, less expensive choices in the states that are more suited to my needs as an American Soccer Mom. It will be interesting to see if more of these compact cars start to make their way state-side and how the Americans react to them.

Posted by Cristina Foster, Vice President, Ford Team, Polk (09.29.2009)