We found out recently that legacy automaker Ford (F) has been having some problems with affordability. It was focused on affordability in electric vehicles, but as it turns out, that affordability crisis goes well beyond electric vehicles. It extends to gas vehicles too, as a TikTok creator recently discovered. This did not sit well with investors, meanwhile, and Ford shares dropped nearly 1.5% in the closing minutes of Thursday’s trading.
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The woman in question, Brooklyn Rivera, decided she wanted an upgrade in her driving. This is reasonable enough—who among us has not been there at one point or another? So she went down to a Ford dealership, bringing along her 2018 Ford Expedition, to see about stepping up to the 2026 Expedition Platinum Max with the Ultimate Package.
She went in feeling good, but this quickly shifted as the sales rep just asked what she wanted her monthly payment to be. This is the equivalent of asking “how much you got?”, and it is extremely disorienting. The dealership brought back a two-year lease quote, and Rivera was shocked to find out a two-year lease on her 2026 Expedition Platinum would have run $1,700 per month. This was essentially the same as her mortgage payment. Of course, she went for the top of the line, so more affordable options were certainly available. But that level of pricing is still hard to bear.
Saving Money on Shelby
Ford recently brought out a new Mustang that featured a new variant name, the Dark Horse. A supercharged version followed not long after, the Dark Horse SC. Some note that this is essentially a Shelby GT500, but also note that the Shelby name was clearly absent.
Ford noted that the naming conventions here reflect that the Dark Horse SC is a Ford Racing product, not a Shelby. After all, Ford asserted, Shelby does not race. But a separate report pointed out that using the name Shelby costs Ford “…millions of dollars.” It is possible that Ford is being a bit more judicious about using the Shelby name in a bid to save money, and that a future project could get the nod.
Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on three Buys, eight Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 25.55% rally in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $13.79 per share implies 10.47% upside potential.
