From a domestic standpoint, a comparably equipped Dodge Ram offers an extra 45 horsepower, while a GM-badged truck provides up to 2,100 additional pounds of towing capacity and up to 800 pounds of extra payload capacity. Those figures alone merit consideration before you put down tens of thousands of your hard-earned dollars on a 2005 Ford F-250, a vehicle that, despite modest exterior freshening, looks dated and is low-rent in all aspects but its powertrain.

None of that may matter if and when the imports enter the heavy-duty game. Nissan has hinted at development of a heavy-duty pickup, and with the impressive standard engine in the Titan, it’s obvious the company knows how to deliver power. Combine that with improved initial quality, and Nissan could be a formidable adversary to the Ford F-250. And then there’s Toyota, which has the quality covered and needs only focus on more powerful engines. Should these import powerhouses work through the glitches and go heavy-duty, they just might put a gaping hole in Detroit’s last line of defense.