Legacy automaker Ford (F) has suffered a lot these days, with recall after recall hitting the company. Sure, many of these recalls have been a mere software update away from fixing, but others have been much more complex and costly. The latest recall will likely be one of the latter, reports note, as the SYNC 3 infotainment system is now at issue. This did not sit well with investors, who sent shares slumping nearly 2% in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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We had heard, previously, about a fault in the rear-view camera. But this latest fault is apparently much more complex to fix. A fault in the infotainment system could not only cause the rear-view camera to keep an image on the screen even when not in reverse, but could also have the image go completely blank. New reports also note that the system may not respond to software updates, and may even find the language on the display suddenly shifted to one the car’s owner does not actually speak.
A wide range of models are impacted by this, starting with Transit Connect cars from 2018 to 2022, Mavericks from 2022 to 2024, Bronco Sport models from 2021 to 2024, Escapes from 2020 to 2022, Rangers from 2019 to 2023, and more. Perhaps worst of all, Ford Explorers from 2020 to 2024 are also on the list. And the fix will prove disturbingly complex: the entire SYNC 3 infotainment system must be extracted and replaced with a completely new system.
The Unexpected Celebrity Connection
But all was not grim for Ford today, as an unexpected celebrity connection was revealed. As it turns out, actor Idris Elba of The Wire fame was actually a former Ford employee. Elba recalled his time at a Dagenham, East London Ford plant as “grim,” where he worked night shifts, performing the same tasks nightly over the course of two years.
Then, just to round out the news, reports also noted that Ford’s popular Mustang lineup would be losing two color options forever: the Wimbledon White and the Intense Lime Yellow Metallic colors are out. Intense Lime Yellow was a special option, running $295 extra, and only available on certain models to begin with. Wimbledon White was a special option for the 60th Anniversary Edition model, which is no longer available. So with that car gone, so too is its special paint color.
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, 12 Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 9.01% loss in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $9.71 per share implies 15.97% downside risk.
