Dodge, Ford Hyundai Take Home Trophies as North American Car, Truck, Utility Vehicle Winners Revealed

The Dodge Charger, Ford Maverick Lobo and Hyundai Palisade were the big winners Wednesday as a panel of 50 jurors announced their choices for North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year. Headlight.News has more.

A diverse group of vehicles squared off for honors Wednesday as the three winners of the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of Year awards were announced at the opening of the Detroit Auto Show.

Detroit-based manufacturers dominated this year, nabbing two of the three trophies. Unlike a year ago, electrified vehicles took a back seat to conventional internal combustion engines, all three winners are powered by gas – though one is also available with an all-electric drivetrain, another with in an optional hybrid package.

The Dodge Charger took Car-of-the-Year honors, the Ford Maverick Lobo edition named best truck. And Hyundai was the lone foreign brand to take home a trophy as its newly redesigned Palisade model was named Utility Vehicle of the Year as 50 jurors from across the U.S. and Canada tallied up voted for the 32^nd year.

Here’s more on the winners.

Dodge Charger Named North American Car of the Year

The eighth-generation Charger made its debut in late 2024 in all-electric form. But NACTOY jurors this time focused on the gas-powered package that came to market a year later. It beat out two well-regarded finalists, the ninth-generation Nissan Sentra and the Honda Prelude, the latter returning to the U.S. market after a 25-year absence exclusively in hybrid form.

This marked the first major makeover of Charger in decades, a controversial move considering the first version out of the box was the all-electric Daytona trim capable of making up to 670 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque in PowerShot mode. Demand has been significantly stronger for the gas-powered Charger that followed, using a Hurricane engine punching out as much as 550 hp and 531 lb-ft.

“It was all about redefining American performance and pushing the bar higher,” said Dodge brand chief Matt McAlear. “But we had to maintain the soul of the Charger.”

“The beauty of this (underlying) platform is that it’s multi-energy,” providing the automaker the ability to flex production to deliver the right mix of powertrains consumers demand.

Ford Maverick Lobo Wins as North American Truck of the Year

This battle was clearly going to be a tough one, two full-size Ram trucks – the mainstream 1500 and heavy-duty 2500 – going up against Ford’s quirky little Maverick Lobo.

Delivering Ford its sixth consecutive win in the truck category, Lobo is a new variant of the popular compact pickup Ford first launched in 2021 as a 2022 model. No wolf in sheep’s clothing, Lobo doesn’t hide its aggressive nature. “Inspired” by the lowered performance trucks of decades past, it picks up on the functional features of more mainstream Maverick trims. While this version features a 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine, other versions of the compact pickup can be ordered with a high-mileage hybrid option.

The win comes as “testimony to Ford’s commitment to truck excellence,” Pam Wylie, Ford Vehicle Line Program Director.

The original Maverick almost didn’t happen, Ford initially questioning whether there was a market for something so small among pickup buyers. It came to life as a result of a small “skunkworks program,” noted Eddie Khan, its program manager, and has since attracted a broad range of buyers, including many who would otherwise been priced out of the pickup segment.

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Hyundai Palisade Picked as North American Utility Vehicle of the Year

The utility vehicle category brought out a particularly eclectic group of finalists for 2026, with two of the three all-electric: the third-generation Nissan Leaf migrating to a crossover design, and EV start-up Lucid launching its first SUV, the Gravity.

Jurors opted for the second-generation Hyundai Palisade – though it still falls into the “electrified” category with a first-ever hybrid drivetrain option that can deliver up to 629 miles range before needing to tank up, according to the EPA. The 2026 Hyundai Palisade brings a range of new safety and tech features, while also adding a “more off-road-capable” XRT Pro package.

“It came out at exactly the right time,” said Hyundai’s Senior Vice President of Product and Mobility, Olabisi Boyle. “It demonstrated we listened to the voices of (NACTOY) jurors and our customers.”

Once seen as a bargain basement brand, products like the Palisade have dramatically reshaped Hyundai’s image. This marked the sixth time Hyundai has won a NACTOY award since it scored in 2009 with the luxury sedan then known as the Hyundai Genesis.