I'll agree with what Jerry said. Some later model cars are even grounded that way, usually with the ground cable going to or near the alternator bracket. Either wya, you want to make sure you have a soid clean ground. But there's really no need to run 2 cables from the battery. You could simply just run the ground to the engine, then run the chassis to engine strap to take car of the body electrics.
As far the trucks are concerned, if the contacts are clean, and the bolts tight, the factory system works fine. I will admit to running secondary ground wires from the radio/amp, as well as the aftermarket ignition system, but the are all run to the mounting for the common ground, which is also the connection point for the engine ground.
