Pickup trucks have evolved over the years, but the need to clearly designate a truck's capacity for work has been around for generations. Ford produced the F-1 pickup truck starting in the late 1940s.

DEERWOOD — Cherry red with black trim and chrome in all the right places, Quint Hanson’s 1934 Chevrolet 1 1/2 ton flatbed looks as though it just rolled off the assembly line nearly 90 years later.

No one can complain that there isn’t enough choice in the half-ton pickup class. With as many as nine available trims, six engines, three cab configurations, and three bed lengths per truck, there are ...