Ford is betting the success of the Fiesta subcompact on the blogs, tweets and Facebook updates of 100 people who will live with the cars and share their experiences online. It's a hell of a gamble, but if it pays off, Ford just might recast itself as a cool company with a great product – no small feat for an American automaker.

Ford wants to generate buzz for the Fiesta, which will bring Europe's "small cars can be cool" ethos to America when it arrives next year. But rather than hand a bunch of them over to mainstream journalists, Ford broke with tradition by inviting dozens of 20-somethings to live with the car for six months and tell the world about it.

"While were trying to build excitement and awareness for the vehicle with the Fiesta Movement campaign, there's something bigger happening here," Scott Monty, Ford's social media boss, told Wired.com. "We're also going to be building broader awareness of Ford."

Social networking sites sell everything from soda to singers these days, but the auto industry has been slow to catch on. It might seem like a big risk – what if someone's car craps out? But Ford, and the entire industry, for that matter, desperately needs to embrace the message it sends, said Ian Shafer, CEO of the marketing firm Deep Focus.

"It shows that Ford cares what customers think," he said.

That's supremely important when everyone is bashing Detroit and taxpayers wonder why they should pay to keep Chrysler and General Motors alive. Something like the Fiesta Movement campaign also could give Ford an edge with a huge – and incredibly web-savvy – demographic.

Ford isn't shunning traditional advertising for the car, and it undoubtedly will invite the guys from Car & Driver, the Detroit Free Press and other mainstream outlets to review the Fiesta before it goes on sale at the end of 2010.

But the healthiest of the Big Three wants to generate buzz for the car among "millennials," those born between 1979 and 1996. Some 70 million millennials will be driving next year, and Ford is targeting the Fiesta squarely at them. A Microsoft study found 77 percent of millennials use a social networking site like Facebook or MySpace daily and 28 percent of them have a personal blog. That explains Ford's marketing campaign.

Ford recently handed 100 Fiestas to 100 people selected from 4,000 applicants. These "agents" – that's what Ford calls them – get to use the cars for six months in exchange for completing monthly "missions" with different themes. They'll share their experiences through YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and Twitter accounts Ford created for the campaign.

It's a smart move, Shafer said, because it plays into consumer demand for unofficial – read, unbiased – information about a new car. By turning the marketing over to social networking sites, Ford provides its target audience with content generated by people within that audience. Ford is taking a hands-off approach and telling participants not to hold back their opinions, bolstering the campaign's credibility.

"We've told them to be completely honest – that's the only way it's going to work," Monty told us. "We won't tell them what to say, nor will we censor or edit any of their content."

So far, it's working in Ford's favor. The tweets on the FordFiesta Twitter page are generally favorable, if a bit dry, as are the posts over at The Fiesta Movement Facebook page. None of the 80 pictures on the Fiesta Movement Flickr page show broken down cars. There are a few hundred videos on the FiestaMovement YouTube account if anyone's got a few hours to kill.

There's always a chance it could blow up in Ford's face. But the risk may not be as great as one might think. The Fiesta has been wildly successful in Europe – Ford says it's the second-best seller on the continent – and in Asia. Monty's confident the "agents" will give Ford a fair shake before posting a rant should something go wrong.

"As far as mechanical difficulties, let's let common sense prevail," he said. "If you were driving one of our cars as part of this program, wouldn't you call for assistance first, rather than writing a blog post?"

Still, even a breakdown or two could be good for Ford, just so long as the company handles any problems quickly and courteously, Shafer said. "They could really look like a hero if they come through," he said.

Monty says Ford is ready for the challenge.

"We've done a lot of war gaming and we're prepared for a number of scenarios," Monty told Wired.com. "Again, we're looking for their feedback and input on the vehicle – they're testing the vehicle as much as they're building buzz about it, and we want to know how to make it the best possible car."

Photo: Flickr / Fiesta Movement

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