No, we’re not talking about this page. Ford Motor Co. has been running the ultimate give-away promotion in the run-up to the relaunch of the 2011 Ford Explorer. If enough people click “Like” on the official Ford Explorer Facebook page then one of those fans earns the chance to win the brand new SUV. We’ve seen other “Like” give-aways before, including for fancy lingerie that succeeds in amassing a quick surge of bargain-hunting fans. But what could the chance to drive home a brand new $30,000 car bring in in terms of new Facebook fans?

Well, Ford was hoping for at least 30,000 new Ford Explorer fans when it announced the details of the Facebook giveaway earlier this month. They beat that number, but not by that much considering what’s at stake: a brand new SUV. The fans number stands at a little over 43,000 this morning, not quite enough to crack Famecount’s list of top 200 brands. Maybe they should do a give-away each month.

Still, Ford has managed to extend the buzz and excitement of the launch to a passionate community. And they’ve responded, discussing the merits of the new design as this exchange shows:

Of course, this is more valuable for Ford than goosing its fans number with fickle contest hopefuls.