Detroit, MI
Winners: 2026 North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year
Detroit — The envelope, please. . .
The North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year (NACTOY) awards unveiled the 2026 model year winners Wednesday to open the Detroit Auto Show.
Winner of Car of Year went to the Dodge Charger. Truck of the Year honors went to the Ford Maverick Lobo. And the Hyundai Palisade took home the Utility of the Year crown.
The awards were presented on stage at the soaring Atrium space in Huntington Place Convention Center.
Fifty jurors (including the author of this article) from U.S. and Canadian media outlets selected the finalists after testing 30 nominees across all categories, 19 of them SUVs. Of the nine finalists, two were electric with an average price of $46,248 across the three categories. The $96.5k Gravity was the most expensive nominee, the $23.4k Sentra the cheapest.
In the car category, the Charger and Prelude marked the return of sexy, legendary badges. Detroit’s sentimental favorite was the $51,990 Charger Sixpack (so named for its inline-6 cylinder engine), reborn for ‘26 after the previous, V8-powered generation exited the market in 2023 dogged by federal emissions regulations. The gas-powered Charger shares a stable with the electric Charger Daytona EV. Dressed in a throwback, 1960s coke-bottle wardrobe, the hatchback Charger Sixpack boasts a more refined chassis and interior over predecessors.
For the first time since 2001, Prelude is back with a different mission. As its badge implies, the sporty, $43,195 coupe is a prelude to Honda’s future. The Japanese automaker is leaning into gas-electric hybrids and hatchback Prelude is a Civic-based, hybrid halo as the brand moves to full electrification next decade.
The $23,645 compact Sentra sedan is an affordable option at a time when the average price for a new vehicle is over 50 grand. With twin, hoodless digital screens and wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, Sentra has premium looks for its budget price.
Ram had two nominees for the Truck Wars with its refreshed, light-duty 1500 and heavy-duty 2500 pickups.
Like sister Stellantis brand Dodge, Ram had spiked its best-selling Hemi V-8 to assuage regulators in 2025. The V-8 (officially the eTorque V-8) is back by popular demand. Ram has stamped every V-8 model’s fender with the “Symbol of Protest” protest badge featuring a ram’s head atop a Hemi engine. The Heavy Duty never lost its V-8 or diesel engines (spared by separate federal emissions rules) and brings Ram’s interior refinement to big trucks.
The $37,625 Lobo added a street performance trim to the Maverick’s popular XL, XLT, Lariat and Tremor lineup. The trucklet is a sports car with a bed with its lowered chassis, stiffer springs, and drift-happy, torque-vectoring, rear twin-clutch.
The SUV category was a horse race between the three-row Hyundai Palisade, wee Nissan Leaf EV and sci-fi Gravity.
The latter is Lucid’s first SUV after the elegant Air sedan. At half the price of the six-figure Gravity, the Hyundai comes with major upgrades for 2026 including head-turning style, a hoodless, digital display and an XRT Pro off-road trim complete with all-terrain tires.
The Nissan Leaf went from nerd to swan with its stylin’ 2026 model. Still affordably priced at $29,990, the Nissan is the only EV available for under $30k.
Awarded by a geographically diverse, independent jury of automotive journalists (not a single publication), NACTOY is recognized as one of the industry’s most prestigious baubles. Vehicles are judged as benchmarks for their segments based on factors including innovation, design, handling, user experience and value.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.
Detroit, MI
Brother Nature at Night: Jack’s backyard & kayaking the Huron River
Detroit, MI
Detroit Sandwich Party returns to Eastern Market on Sept. 6
(WXYZ) — The third annual Detroit Sandwich Party is coming to Eastern Market on Labor Day weekend, bringing a massive free festival for sandwich lovers.
The festival is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 6 at Eastern Market. It’s organized by Carlos Parisi, Will McDowell and Bekah Galang.
Watch our 2025 interview with Carlos in the video below
Detroit Sandwich Party returns to Eastern Market with an expansion on Aug. 31
Organizers are looking for vendors, volunteers and sponsors for the 2026 event. You can learn more and sign up to be a vendor, volunteer or sponsor here.
The event is free to enter, and each vendor will be selling smaller-sized sandwiches for purchase, so people can try as many sandwiches as they want.
Below are some sandwiches from the 2025 festival from Leña, Tall Trees Cafe, Bar Chenin and more
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Detroit, MI
Around 400 pairs of shoes intended for charity giveaway stolen from Detroit nonprofit, organization says
Shoes intended for an annual charity giveaway in Detroit were recently stolen from a local nonprofit organization’s warehouse. Now, the group is asking for your help.
NW Goldberg Cares was set to give away 1,000 pairs of sneakers at its annual Hoopfest, a community event tied to Mayor Mary Sheffield’s “Occupy the Summer” initiative, but on Friday, the nonprofit’s founder made a surprising discovery at their warehouse.
“I just happened to notice that something seemed very off about how many shoes were in the warehouse. Sure enough, I went to the back of the facility, saw a bunch of big boxes, as well as some bags that previously had sneakers in it, completely empty,” Daniel Washington, founder and executive director, NW Goldberg Cares, said.
Washington says a person or group stole about 400 pairs of shoes.
“From the looks of it, it looks like they were somehow able to pry up the door on the backside of the building, crawl underneath, and while somebody else was in, somebody was able to hand shoes out underneath the door,” he said.
Washington says a report was filed with the Detroit Police Department, but so far, they don’t have any leads.
“DPD staff is working on the case right now. We’ve been in contact with several sergeants on the issue, and at this point, we’re just hoping for some type of information on it or recovery of some sort,” Washington said.
The custom-designed brand shoes were donated by Social Status Detroit and USA Basketball. The value is more than $40,000.
“Depending on what shoes you’re talking about, you could go as up to $45,000 to $75,000. Because again, shoes, depending, were as much as $220 a shoe. So, a lot of loss,” Washington said.
Since the news broke, the community has stepped up to help.
“We have about over 130 pairs of individual shoes that were donated via our Amazon wish list, which has truly helped us in so many ways because, you know, without those types of donations, without people stepping up, you know, we would be up a creek without a paddle, as they say,” Washington said.
Hoopfest gives hope to kids and teens.
“For so many kids across this great city, they might not have ever had a brand new pair of shoes, right? Money is tight in the household, and at the end of the day, we want to give them that level of confidence or give them that little boost to say, ‘Hey, you deserve the experience of opening up a brand new pair of shoes,’” Washington said.
Washington shared the following final message with CBS News Detroit on Sunday:
“I encourage anybody who needs help, just reach out before you make it or do an act like this that compromises the integrity of an event like ours. Just reach out. Say, ‘We need help.’ Express your needs. Say, ‘Hey, we’d love some support in this way. Is there any way we could work alongside you?’”
The nonprofit founder says they’re resilient and they’re not going to let the incident stop Hoopfest from being a success. The event runs Friday through Sunday at Curtis Jones Park.
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