For legacy automaker Ford (F), the future is still focused on non-boring vehicles and a world where Ford is the Porsche of off-road. However, one key factor still seems to be missing: cars. While Ford has plenty of trucks and SUVs, the simple sedan or coupe is just out of the picture. That discrepancy seems to be doing some damage, as Ford shares are down almost 3.5% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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Ford, to its credit, has been working on bolstering supplies of “entry level” vehicles, giving shoppers more options and reasons to buy a Ford. And with sales in the United States alone clearing the two million mark in 2024—up 4.2%, reports note—there is clearly a market, if Ford can fill it. But with the Ford Escape about to be shut down this year, some are wondering if there is a market for the plain old ordinary car to come back.
In fact, right now, reports note that Ford has just one actual car to its credit: the Mustang. And the Mustang’s sales are not what they once were, dropping 9.5% to hit just over 44,000 sold. Some rumors suggest the car may come back, though; the so-called “Mach 4” is one such item, and early reports suggest that, whatever it looks like, it will have gas engines. It may even be a four-door Mustang, which would be an unexpected win.
Music Company Files Suit Over Eminem Song Use
And then things got a lot less boring for Ford, but in a completely different direction. One of Ford’s dealerships came under fire from Eight Mile Style, the company that controls the early catalog of musician Eminem. Specifically, the song Lose Yourself, which a dealership used as part of an advertisement.
The dealership, LaFontaine Ford St. Clair, started a series of online ads designed to promote the Detroit Lions Ford F-150, a limited edition truck. Not only does the ad use the song for its background score, but it also uses the tagline: “You only get one shot to own a Special Edition Detroit Lions F-150.” But with the song previously used in Super Bowl commercials, that led Eight Mile Style to take issue with the ad and file a suit in federal court.
Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on two Buys, nine Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 7% loss in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $10.75 per share implies 6.97% upside potential.
