2013 Ford Escape SUV at LA auto show

It’s already America’s best-selling compact sport-utility vehicle, but Ford has a lot riding on its newly redesigned and more fuel-efficient Escape that will be unveiled today at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

At stake is a potential third shift at the newly renovated Louisville Assembly Plant and as many as 1,800 new jobs — if the new Escape can eclipse the 200,000 annual sales of the current model.

Ford hopes consumers will embrace the new 2013 Escape and its more rounded, sleeker style, which will sell for about the same price as the current model when it appears in showrooms in the early spring.