2026 Car of the year candidates included: Audi A5, Dodge Charger, Honda Prelude, Kia K4 Hatchback, Mercedes-Benz CLA and Nissan Sentra.
2026 Truck of the Year candidates included: Ford F-150 Lobo, Ford Maverick Lobo, Ram 1500 Hemi; Ram 2500 and Rivian R1T Quad Motor.
2026 Utility Vehicle of the Year candidates included: Acura ADX, Audi Q5, Cadillac Escalade IQ, Cadillac OPTIQ, Cadillac VISTIQ, Ford Expedition, Genesis GV70, Honda Passport, Hyundai Ioniq 9, Hyundai Palisade and Jeep Cherokee, Lucid Gravity, Nissan Leaf, Polestar 4, Subaru Forester Hybrid, Toyota 4Runner, Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, Volkswagen Tiguan and Volvo EX30.
“These winners represent the best in the auto industry,” said Jeff Gilbert, president of NACTOY and automotive reporter at WWJ Radio. “This award has great value because of the diverse backgrounds of our jurors, and on behalf of those jurors, I offer deep congratulations to all of our winners for 2026.”
Founded in 1994, the NACTOY awards are the longest-running new-vehicle awards not associated with a single publication. Vehicles are judged by 50 professional automotive journalists from a wide variety of print, online, radio and television media outlets in the United States and Canada.
