The Amazing Race Heavily Features Ford Fiesta, Mustang, Focus and Explorer

Ford’s sponsorship for the 19th edition of “The Amazing Race” includes on-air components featuring four of its top models – Explorer, Fiesta, Focus and Mustang. During the season premiere, teams start their race in the foothills of Southern California. After receiving their first destination from host Phil Keoghan, all 11 teams will jump into a new Ford Explorer and drive to Los Angeles International Airport before departing on their first leg to Taipei, Taiwan.

So, apparently, the 2011 Ford Explorer really just has a cameo on “The Amazing Race” but the audience will continue to see the Ford Fiesta, Focus and Mustang vehicles make their way across the globe in additional episodes throughout the season.

Of course, to keep the product placement juggernaut going, one of the 11 teams competing this year will win two new Ford Mustangs for finishing in first place in an upcoming leg. The winners will be given the opportunity to customize their Mustangs using Ford’s new Mustang Customizer website. Learn more at TorqueNews.com’s story about the Mustang Customizer website.

“As the exclusive automotive partner, we are proud to be providing vehicles that play a vital role in helping the contestants navigate and accomplish their near-impossible tasks,” said Crystal Worthem, Ford Brand Content and Alliance manager, in a news release.

This season’s cast, which includes a pair of Olympic snowboarders, twin sisters, an ex-NFL tight end and two winners of the CBS-TV show “Survivor,” will make first-time visits to such exotic locations as Indonesia, Malawi, Belgium and Denmark. Along the way, teams will travel across four continents and through 20 cities, covering nearly 40,000 miles.

“The Amazing Race” sends 11 teams on a trek around the world. Each team is comprised of two people who have a pre-existing relationship with one another. At every destination, each team competes in a series of challenges – some mental and some physical – and when the tasks have been completed, they learn their next destination. Teams who are farthest behind will gradually be eliminated as the contest progresses, with the first team to arrive at the final destination winning $1 million.