There are only a few manufacturers of batteries in this country. Exide, Interstate, and East Penn in Reading , PA. I had a long talk with a battery rep from East Penn once. They make all the Walmart auto and Marine batteries as well as countless other private label brands.
I usually buy OEM spec batteries, and never upsize a battery. Buying the super deluxe, barely fit in the pan, extra heavy duty battery is a waste of money. If you can't exercise it properly it will be the quickest to go
In my career I've sold many different brands of batteries.
Now that I am at NAPA we (naturally) sell NAPA brand batteries. They are mfd. by East Penn. I have had less come backs with East Penn batteries, by far.
I toured the factory years ago. Very impressive!
As Pete stated above, they make batteries for many other brands, as well as many OEM auto manufacturers.
When my previous employer dropped East Penn (Deka) I was not enthusiastic.
I will say that many new "defective" batteries are often mis-diagnosed. Corroded terminals on either end, including the end you can't see, bad alternators, electrical issues, bum starters.
My 79 Ford pickup was getting sluggish starting. The battery was getting up in age so I replaced it. Still sluggish. Checked the connection at the starter it was good, clean and tight.
I took a close look at the cable and found a small nick in the insulation, up at the terminal.
I skinned the insulation back a found about 12" of corroded copper under the insulation. Externally the cable looked fine.
The older Ford used about 1/3 of the current just to engage the starter drive or Bendix.
But the car won't start, the default diagnosis is replace the battery.
Most places can and will test the charging system and battery for free.
I don't remember the exact figure but years ago our AC Delco rep told us GM pulled a random sample of alleged defective batteries, charged and tested them. The actual number of bad batteries was less than 10%.
Just my experience of 50+ years.
