Dodge created the Dodge Challenger to compete with the Chevy Corvette sports car, while the RAM lineup could focus on creating more powerful engines and more resilient builds for Spanaway jobs. By splitting the two brands up, each could become more specialized and innovative.

Best Of the Full-Size Pickup Truck Brands The leading contenders in this segment are the Ford F-150, GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Silverado, Ram 1500, and the Toyota Tundra. The Nissan Titan also slots in here, but it will soon be a thing of the past. To make things easier, we'll split this category into two.

Toyota Tacoma The Tacoma is the most reliable truck on this list by a long shot. It topped the RepairPal and Consumer Reports reliability ratings and was the highest-ranking midsize truck in the J.D. Power study. This makes it the reliability king of trucks.

The first known usage of "truck" was in 1611 when it referred to the small strong wheels on ships' cannon carriages, and comes from "Trokhos" (Greek) = "wheel". In its extended usage, it came to refer to carts for carrying heavy loads, a meaning known since 1771.