Yeah, East Penn, Exide and Johnson Controls. A lot of people are surprised Interstate is just a marketing and distribution company. I used to be a dealer for Interstate batteries since it was convenient to either have a flooring deal or have the local distributor close by to deliver/pickup what I needed and the motorcycle batteries were made by Yuasa.
I got seven years out of my Walmart batteries in my old Ford diesel. They had been run down to almost dead more times than I can count. Consumer reports usually has them rated towards the top.
We supplied case to East Penn and Exide. We supplied to JC is smaller quantities. East Penn are good people and are good to do business with. We made other parts for industrial stuff. When terminals dried up due to a EPA issue, things were really tough..
What are you guys doing to kill your batteries so fast? I just replaced my plow truck battery after 9 years. It still worked to start the truck but didn't have the guts to power the plow hydraulic pump motor anymore. Unlike the starter motor which only takes a short burst of high amps, the plow motor might run for 3 or 4 seconds at a clip to raise the plow....that and it does it maybe 100 times in a row. Just too much of a strain for an old battery. In any case, a normal car or PU truck ought to be OK for a longer life.
Almost added "now Clarios" after Johnson Controls in my post but did not though I should've known, because the beeb. If anyone wants to geek out on who makes batteries for who, this is an extensive list: http://jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/batbrand.htm