Ole Reliable is a recent name. I had to drive it from Wichita to Minot (1100 miles) and thats a long drive when you have no insulation, no cruise, no radio, no OD, and glasspacks. Broken leafspring, bad rear output bearing, sludgy oil, clogged radiator, worn seat, and a bunch of rattling crap. But she made the drive in 20-some hours at 20mpg and only two stops for gas and sleep. Originally this one was Big Ugly, Moo truck, Cow Truck, POS, and Alarm clock (the neighbors named that one unofficially).
Big Red was named for the paint job. The old Big Red gum had paper wrappers that were red/white/red striped. So is Big Red the Burb. And of course she's bigger than most anything else on base besides crew cabs.
I recently named the Navigator The Traitor cuz until this year I had no intention of buying anything but GM ever again. But Reliable was still in Wichita, Red was down with clutch issues, and the $200 wonder wasnt able to hold the whole family besides having a slew of problems.