These Are The 2026 North American Car and Truck of the Year Winners

The opening days of the Detroit Auto Show provided the backdrop for one of the industry’s more closely watched honors, as the Automotive Press Association revealed the winners of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards.

The NACTOY program draws from a pool of professional automotive journalists—including our own Greg Migliore— who evaluate new or substantially redesigned vehicles over the course of the year, with voting conducted independently and tallied by Deloitte only moments before the results are announced.

2026 North American Car of the Year

In the Car of the Year category, the judges selected the latest Dodge Charger, a decision that reflects both the weight of the nameplate and the technical pivot it represents. Now entering its eighth generation and marking roughly six decades since the Charger first appeared, the newest version moves away from V8 power in favor of a 550-horsepower turbocharged inline-six.

That shift, along with the car’s retro-forward design language, ultimately carried more votes than its fellow finalists, the Honda Prelude and Nissan Sentra. While some jurors favored the Sentra’s affordability or the Prelude’s accessible performance character, the Charger’s reinvention proved compelling enough to secure the top spot.

2026 North American Truck of the Year

The Truck of the Year award extended a familiar streak, as Ford claimed the title for the sixth consecutive year with the Maverick Lobo. The compact pickup edged out Ram’s V8-powered 1500 and the heavy-duty Ram 2500, both of which leaned heavily on traditional capability and displacement.

The Maverick Lobo, by contrast, appealed to judges with its combination of manageable size, attainable pricing, and an emphasis on everyday usability, qualities that continue to resonate in a market where full-size trucks are growing ever larger and more expensive.

2026 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year

In the Utility Vehicle of the Year category, the Hyundai Palisade emerged as the winner over the Lucid Gravity and Nissan Leaf. The Gravity earned recognition for its engineering ambition and interior space, while the Leaf made a case on value and simplicity.

Ultimately, the Palisade’s balance of refinement, packaging, and pricing carried the day, reinforcing Hyundai’s steady momentum in the three-row SUV segment.

This article was co-written using AI and was then heavily edited and optimized by our editorial team.

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