Ford Motor has unveiled an ambitious facelift for its troubled North American operations aimed at shifting its focus from big pick-up trucks and sport-utility vehicles towards smaller, more fuel-efficient cars.

But the number-two Detroit carmaker also underlined the magnitude of the challenges it faces, announcing a record quarterly loss of $8.7bn and warning that it does not expect an upturn in the US economy before 2010. The latest loss includes pre-tax special charges of $8bn from writedowns in assets and the lease portfolio of its financing arm, Ford Credit.