Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a center console with a cooler that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on December 21st, 2022, published on August 26th, 2025, and assigned serial number 12397695.
Ford has filed quite a few patents in recent months centered around the concept of providing cooled spaces inside of its future vehicles, which could be used to do everything from haul groceries to provide a place for beverages during tailgates. Those include ideas for a thermal enclosure assembly and a climate controlled frunk, to name just a couple. Ford has also been exploring a new type of center console designed to do all kinds of things, and now, those include a new idea for a cooler in that same space that may be used in future Ford vehicles, too.
The latest of several potential center console designs features a couple of different ideas for potential coolers, which is something that’s already present in certain modern vehicles – particularly luxurious ones. In this case, Ford proposes using the entire center console as a cooler in one instance, while another concept shows a portion of the center console being removed as its own, separate cooler. Either way, such an idea seems quite useful for a lot of reasons, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see something of this sort arrive in a production vehicle one day.
“Submitting patent applications is a normal part of any strong business as the process protects new ideas and helps us build a robust portfolio of intellectual property,” Ford said in a statement. “The ideas described within a patent application should not be viewed as an indication of our business or product plans. No matter what the patent application outlines, we will always put the customer first in the decision-making behind the development and marketing of new products and services.”
The perfect vehicle to embody "horsepower."
The original owner's wife wasn't a fan, so it sat for decades.
Closing the week at $11.74 per share.
Still offers the same equipment, though.
At least both drivers seemed aware of the situation and could avoid it.
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They already did something like this in the Flex, using the A/C to cool a space in the center console
Those coolers actually had there own small compressor and coolant system, much like a small refrigerator. They worked really well.
Instead of that, take the Explorer for an example....on the outside, it looks like a wide vehicle, but the seats are so cramped on the inside. You have the room with the wide body structure, why not make the seating more comfortable with more arm room??? I don't know what it is, the shape of the center armrest/console or what!!!
Guys, you could have had this before in a Pontiac or a Dodge.