This Is The Worst-Selling Car In Texas

There's a common phrase found throughout the United States – everything's bigger in Texas, and that certainly extends to its road networks. Texas is an extremely expansive state, with vast distances between cities and townships that are covered by a breadth of similarly wide-open highways and interstates. Naturally, then, cars are quite popular – the second most popular out of any state in the country, in fact. Texas sold a grand total of 1,558,263 cars in 2024 alone, making it one of only three states to break the seven-figure mark, the other two being California and Florida. A question many people would impulsively ask is, 'What is the fastest-selling car among all these?' and the answer surprises no one: the Toyota Camry. But what about the slowest? Well, according to a study by CarEdge, it's the Lincoln Aviator.

The Lincoln Aviator is a midsize SUV that somehow only managed to sell one car of a fleet of 72 statewide in the past 45 days, but how? To further quantify this, it's likely related to a specific trim level of the Aviator, of which there are three: Premium, Reserve, and Black Label, which range in price from the low-$60,000 range to over $80,000, depending on dealer markups. Theoretically, therefore, this listing only refers to one of these models, and judging by the average sale price of $76,341, it's likely the Reserve with some options. Nevertheless, all the other cars on this list abide by this rule, so what makes the Aviator such a poor seller?

The Lincoln Aviator is basically a premium Ford Explorer variant, much the same as how the Navigator is the premium version of the Ford Expedition. As such, the Aviator boasts a plethora of special features and a robust powertrain , namely the 400-horsepower twin turbo 3.0L V6 with a 10-speed automatic. In an era where SUV sales greatly outshine car sales and fewer sedans are on the market, cars like the Aviator represent a sort of modern-day take on the Lincoln Town Car formula – a luxury-oriented family vehicle with reliable Ford underpinnings.

However, it's those underpinnings that sometimes get criticized, as the Lincoln name doesn't carry as much weight as something like Mercedes-Benz or BMW. Moreover, fuel efficiency suffers, as one would expect of a heavyweight SUV, midsize or not. It lacks a hybrid option as well, which is particularly punishing in today's environment where other models offer similar levels of prestige and boast the federal incentives that come with owning a hybrid.

Is it a bad car, then? Not really, no. In actuality, it's a fairly standard luxury SUV, with a dependable powertrain, three-row seating, and numerous comfort and safety features one would expect of something at this price point. However, the fact that Ford has 72 vehicles just sitting around at the lot also makes this one of the most tantalizing options for talking the price point down at the dealership, which would surely improve the value for money of a traditionally highly-depreciable market.

Of course, one has to ask why the Lincoln Aviator isn't selling that well in the first place, and we find the first hint within the reliability scores. The 2025 Lincoln Aviator suffered from no fewer than nine recalls, including one for trim panels falling off and one for unexpected powertrain behavior, including an improperly secured transmission. All this compounds with the fact that it's not a hybrid and gets poor fuel economy, its platform offers mediocre handling, and it sits in a saturated market filled with more money-savvy options.

Reviews often cite it as a polarizing vehicle, with certain strong suits and detriments. Its strengths typically lie in its interior features, comfort level, ride quality, and so on. But with no major changes present nor on the horizon for 2026, coupled with its overly soft handling and poor visibility, means it rests as simply "average." And average apparently doesn't cut it in Texas, nor in many other regions in the United States; according to CarEdge, the Aviator represents one of the worst value-for-money cars on sale today, to the tune of 199th out of 217 luxury cars rated by CarEdge concerning its value.

Basically, in a world in which the Lexus RX exists, the Lincoln Aviator isn't likely to do well in the sales department, certainly not when you throw hybrid powertrains into the mix. However, it remains one of the cars least affected by the tariffs, owing to Lincoln's status as one of the remaining luxury manufacturers made in America, so there's a consolation prize.