GMC

After pickup sales sputtered along with the U.S. economy the past four years, 2013 is shaping up as the year of the truck. Home building -- the key economic barometer among the hardhats who buy pickups -- finally is showing signs of life, with housing starts up 22 percent in November. New pickups from Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Co. are stimulating interest in a segment that has struggled to gain traction.

Left, a worker cleans a General Motors Co. sign at the company's booth.