The Ford Motor Company has a lot riding on a car produced in Chicago.

Ford unveiled its sleeker, redesigned Taurus Tuesday at its South Side plant, the only one in the country that produces the sedan.

Mark Fields is president of Ford’s Americas division.

He says the Taurus will play an important role as the company moves away from producing trucks and sport utility vehicles.

FIELDS: We want to bring products to the marketplace - and particularly, small cars - that are very compelling from a design and technology standpoint so that we can get a reasonable level of revenue for the small cars that we do sell.

Fields says he hopes the company can keep up the momentum of the federal government’s so-called “cash for clunkers” program.

That program allows car owners to trade in their old gas-guzzlers in exchange for a government credit toward a new, more fuel-efficient car.

Ford posted its first monthly sales increase in two years Monday - a jump it contributed, in part, to the federal program.