Dodge Charger wins 2026 North American Car of the Year at Detroit Auto Show
Published on Jan 20, 2026 at 12:10 AM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on Jan 19, 2026 at 4:11 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
The Dodge Charger has won the 2026 North American Car of the Year award at the Detroit Auto Show.
Three categories were up for grabs – 2026 North American Car, Utility Vehicle, and Truck of the Year.
In being crowned the continent’s car of the year, the Dodge Charger Sixpack coupe beat out the Honda Prelude and the Nissan Sentra.
So what is it about this car that earned it this prestigious accolade?
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The reaction to the Dodge Charger winning the 2026 North American Car at the Detroit Auto Show
Each winning vehicle was selected by an expert jury of 50 automotive journalists.
The Charger was built at the Stellantis Canada Windsor Assembly Plant, and faced some stiff competition.
In response to the award being bestowed, Dodge CEO Matt McAlear thanked the staff at the Windsor plant.
Union leader James Stewart praised the hard work that went into making the car a reality.
“It’s an amazing testament to the workers at the Windsor Assembly Plant, to Stellantis,” Stewart said, and CBC reported.
“You know, it’s a Canadian-assembled car, but the parts in that car are made all across North America, and the trade agreements are what allow that to happen.”
And what were the winners of the other two categories?
The Ford Maverick Lobo won the North American Truck of the Year, while the Hyundai Palisade won the North American Utility Vehicle of the Year.
This marked the sixth consecutive win for the Maverick Lobo, but it was the Palisade’s first win.
What did the judges have to say about the car?
One of the jurors, Henry Payne, heaped praise on the Charger in an article in his publication, The Detroit News.
“In the car category, [the] Charger was the comeback kid,” he wrote.
“The gas-powered Charger shares a flexible platform with the electric Charger Daytona EV. But where the Daytona was met by a cold shoulder from media and customers last year, the Sixpack thrilled jurors.”
There was similar praise from fellow juror Greg Migliore, over at AutoGuide: “The Dodge Charger is the Swiss Army knife of muscle cars.
“Dodge did a nice job capturing the magic of the 1960s into a modern car that is both practical and a lot of fun to drive.”
We can only imagine what these journalists would have written if they were reviewing the Mopar edition that was shown off at SEMA.
Each juror had 10 points to award in each category – so 500 in total – and the Charger Sixpack garnered 195, beating out the Prelude at 152.
So, what’s to love about this car?
Powered by a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six, it comes in two flavours – the Sixpack R/T, offering 420hp for under $50,000, and the Sixpack Scat Pack, a 550hp beast starting under $55,000.
Dodge claims the Scat Pack Sixpack can hit 60mph in just 3.9 seconds and blast through the quarter mile in 12.2 seconds.
The Sixpack hit showrooms in late 2025, and this buzz from the Detroit Auto Show is sure to get sales off to a flying start.
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Following stints at LadBible, The Sun, The New York Post, and the Daily Mail, Ben joined the team full-time in February 2025. In his role as Senior Content Writer, his sparkling copy, the ability to sniff out a good story at 100 paces, and a GSOH quickly led to him becoming an integral and invaluable member of the writing staff.
