Legacy automaker Ford (F) may actually have found a way to take the “no boring cars” credo a little too far. We have seen electric vans race as if they were fit for the track, and supercars with price tags that make houses look affordable by comparison. But coming soon, Ford may have a car that is capable of digging holes. Ford calls it “dig mode.” Ford investors called it a bad idea, as evidenced by the modest loss in Ford stock in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
Elevate Your Investing Strategy:
- Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.
This is the deal with dig mode: basically, Ford has a patent dubbed “vehicle operation in one-wheel dig mode.” Basically, the car can lock all but one wheel, and then spin that wheel rapidly, allowing it to dig a hole in the ground. If you wonder what possible utility that could have, as it turns out, it is considered a valuable idea in the off-roading market. The patent describes how the dug hole can be used to “…recover…another vehicle that is stuck during recreational off-roading.”
The system can also be useful for making holes at job sites—perhaps like breaking topsoil to lay cable or pipes underground—or in recreational camping. It certainly would qualify as an interesting way to dig a tire-sized fire pit while overnight camping.
Visit Your Ford…Battery Dealer?
One point that always struck some Tesla (TSLA) investors was that the electric car maker had just as much potential to sell batteries as it did cars. And there are signs that Ford might do something similar. Ford may be a major name in electric vehicle batteries, as its partnership with BlueOval SK leaves “…a significant overcapacity of battery cells that otherwise wouldn’t have a home.”
Ford is looking to use this excess stockpile to offer other automakers cheap battery supplies, as well as for energy storage companies. Indeed, energy storage—as well as home energy production—is something of a hot topic these days. The notion of never suffering through a power outage again because your home has generators and batteries capable of running a household is nothing to scoff at.
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 three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 5.22% rally in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $10.77 per share implies 5.07% downside risk.
