Dodge Charger, Ford Maverick Lobo, Hyundai Palisade Win 2026 North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year Awards
Key Points
- The North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year winners were announced at the 2026 Detroit Auto Show ahead of its public opening.
- The Dodge Charger, Ford Maverick Lobo and Hyundai Palisade won for car, truck and utility vehicle of the year, respectively.
It’s awards season in the automotive world, and today at the 2026 Detroit Auto Show, the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year winners were announced. The awards ceremony kicked off the auto show’s media preview before opening to the public Saturday.
Related: More 2026 Detroit Auto Show News
In the car category, the Dodge Charger beat the Honda Prelude and Nissan Sentra for top honors. The current-generation Charger debuted as a 2024 model with an electric powertrain, and for 2026, it gains a new gas powertrain: a twin-turbocharged inline-six-cylinder engine that makes either 420 or 550 horsepower.
All three finalists for the truck award hailed from domestic brands, with Ram having two of the contenders: the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8-powered 1500 light-duty pickup and 2500 heavy-duty truck. But the Ford Maverick Lobo, a new street truck variant of the compact Maverick, emerged as the winner over the larger trucks from Ram. Powered by a 250-hp, turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the Maverick Lobo features a performance-tuned suspension, seven-speed automatic transmission and track-focused Lobo drive mode.
The Hyundai Palisade, Lucid Gravity and Nissan Leaf were the finalists for the utility vehicle award. The redesigned Leaf is one of the most affordable new electric vehicles while the new Gravity is one of the more expensive EVs, but the redesigned Palisade SUV took the win. The Palisade comes standard with a traditional V-6 engine, but a new gas-electric hybrid powertrain gets up to 34 mpg combined — not bad for a three-row family SUV.
More Car News From Cars.com:
- 2026 Dodge Charger Scat Pack Sixpack Review: Crack Open a Cold One, Gas Is Back
- 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid and Lobo Review: The People’s Perfect Truck
- Livin’ La Vida Lobo: Life With Ford’s New 2025 Maverick Sport Truck
- 2026 Hyundai Palisade Hybrid Quick Spin: This Is the One You Want
- 2026 Hyundai Palisade Review: Growing Gains
To be eligible for the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards, a vehicle must be all-new or significantly updated. The initial list of vehicles for the 2026 awards included six cars, five trucks and 19 utility vehicles. From there, a jury of 50 automotive journalists from North America narrowed the list to the three finalists in each category, then voted again to determine the winners. Cars.com’s Senior Road Test Editor Mike Hanley is a member of the jury. Stay tuned for Cars.com’s own Best of the Year awards in the weeks to come, where our experts award one top vehicle per calendar year in six categories.
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