HENRY PAYNE | The Detroit News

Pontiac — Bigger is better.

The GMC Hummer EV took home Best in Show in the annual Detroit News Readers' Choice awards at Motor Bella this year — leading a parade of muscled trucks and SUVs as car buyers' favorites at the outdoor substitute for the Detroit Auto show. Ford racked up five awards as readers judged their favorites on M1 Concourse’s sprawling campus Friday.

The awards are coveted by automakers for their status as the Detroit show's only awards judged by car buyers themselves.

The Hummer — which first assaulted the market in the early '90s as a military-inspired, gas-guzzling SUV — has been reborn as a nearly five-ton, electron-guzzling EV that can hit 60 mph in a mere 3 seconds in its ultimate, 1,000-horsepower trim. The Hummer won 40% of judges votes — double the number of runner-up Ford F-150 Lightning. Hummer also scored first place in the Best Future Concept category.

The Lightning EV — no slouch itself at hitting 60 mph in 4.5 seconds thanks to 775 pound-feet of torque — led a strong team of new Ford products to win trophies.

Lightning grabbed Coolest Technology while its smaller EV sibling, the Mustang Mach-E, electrified the judges as Most Amazing Mobility and Most Eco-friendly.

Ford’s long-awaited Bronco — one of the hottest vehicles on the market — shrugged off recent roof troubles to pick up the prizes for Best Family Fun Finder and Baddest Off-Road Vehicle. The latter category was hotly contested, with Bronco getting the nod over the Ford F-150 Raptor and Ram 1500 TRX super trucks.

Even Ford’s luxury division got into the act with the Lincoln Navigator land yacht beating the Mercedes S-class by a nose for Best Road-Trip Ride.

The only non-SUV to score a prize was America’s favorite supercar, the mid-engine Corvette C8. It won for Best Dream Machine, narrowly beating the Rolls Royce Cullinan, the Brit brand’s first ute. Corvette fans will get more muscle on Oct. 26, when Chevy takes the wraps off its Z06 performance version.

Stellantis' Jeep Renegade broke up the GM/Ford monopoly by winning The Most for Your Money prize over second-place Hyundai Elantra.

Winners:

BEST IN SHOW: GMC Hummer EV

BEST ROAD-TRIP RIDE: Lincoln Navigator

COOLEST TECHNOLOGY: Ford F-150 Lightning

THE MOST FOR YOUR MONEY: Jeep Renegade

MOST ECO-FRIENDLY: Ford Mustang Mach-E

MOST AMAZING MOBILITY: Ford Mustang Mach-E

BEST FAMILY FUN FINDER: Ford Bronco

BEST FUTURE CONCEPT: GMC Hummer EV

BEST DREAM MACHINE: Chevrolet Corvette C8

BADDEST OFF-ROAD VEHICLE: Ford Bronco

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.