So HydroJim, did you want your promo money in cash or cheque? ha ha. And Frank Lee is totally right, it's one thing if you needed a second car because there were now two commuters, or if you were going to sell your current one and buy a much cheaper car to get rid of a car payment etc, but if you are keeping the Focus and want another car just to save more money on gas, then you really need to crunch the numbers on how much fuel you'd actually be saving.
Your Focus will yield improvements similar to just about any small car you could get under $2000 just by adjusting your driving habits, and it's not a bad starting point at all. So you'd have to figure out what a few MPG saved here or there would save you in a month, and then figure out how long that would take to pay for the $2000 car, the additional maintenance, insurance, etc. A Metro would offer a bump in MPG right out of the box over a Focus, but something like a Civic or Tercel I don't think you'd notice much of a difference. There are exceptions of course, Civic VX, CRX HF etc, but finding a decent one of those in your price range is unlikely. A first gen Insight with a dead IMA pack would work too, but again, good luck with finding one that cheap.
So for $2000, a car that would do something you couldn't do with your Focus? My opinion is it'd pretty much have to be a Metro if you don't want a project car or a total beater. There are lots of good starting points for good FE cars out there for $2000 or less, but not a lot that are significantly better than what you already have. As for Metros, I only have one left, and it ain't worth crossing the border for ha ha. I stopped saving those things a while back, I always seem to have bad luck with them! Good luck in your search.
