Chevy and Ford almost always made great trucks, I had many friends who would buy them, and many kept them forever. There use to be a pride in some vehicles. My father was a Pontiac Grand Prix man, his last one that I recieved upon his death was a fine vehicle. Loved that car, it looked good, it had power, it handled well, even in the snow of upstate New York. I drove it for four years after his death and gave it to my brother, he drove it another three years.
Years ago I use to try and persuade people to buy Japanese vehicles, once they did they never went back. They would put 100,000-200,000 miles on them with very little repair. Most american cars barely reached 100,000 before they were ready for the junk pile.
The slogan was buy American, but then everyone cared about the bottom line, and squeezing profits, quality began to go, and with it the reputation a manufacturer once had, once you lose your customer its real hard to get them back. Loyalty still goes a long way when it comes to spending your hard earned money.
zab