I am a long time Chevrolet truck owner..Don't know if I remember all of them we have had, but dad and I generally had about the same things while he was with us.. We had two 64's, one 69, one 70,one 71,and one 72 4WD I still have. After these, dad had a Ford until he passed. I then had one 2001, one 2005, and now a 2011. After dad passed, I also have three Toyota Tacoma's, he was a WWII vet and would not have approved.
The early trucks were all good. The 2001 had the aluminum 5.3 and the pistons rattled from day one. The 2005 was an iron block 5.3, had the 4sp auto and 3.73 gears. These were both 4wd models and the 2005 was a club cab. It was probably the best truck I have owned. It had power, everything worked well, and got 19 on the highway. The 2011 truck would probably seem alright if I never owned the 2005. The 2011 is a pretty fancy club cab 4wd with another aluminum 5.3, 6 speed auto, and 3.42 gears. It really drives nice and rides nice, but has several things I don't like as well as the 2005. It has less power, has the motor which goes from 8 to 4 to save gas, was not available with 3.73 gears (without getting the MAX) has a very plastic interior, throws rocks and dirt all over it, and has digital ac/heater controls which make you take your eyes off the road to adjust. In addition, it only gets around 18.5 on the highway with all of the gadgets to make it better. The sticker indicated 21mpg highway. I didn't want a Ford due to height, but wish I would have looked closer at them or bought a 3/4 ton Chev.
