The greatest vehicle I ever owned was the 1991 Chevrolet Cheyenne C/K that my ex-husband and I owned early in our marriage. The truck was a ¾ ton shortbed extended cab pickup. It kept me and my children safe, withstood quite a bit of abuse, and was still in excellent condition, with many more potential years of use when it was totaled in an accident.
My ex-husband was the original owner of the truck, and religiously performed regular maintenance on it. Consequently, it never broke down and only had two minor issues throughout its lifetime. First, the alternator needed to be replaced, and second, the U-joint was beginning to go bad by the end of its life.
The truck was about 3-5 years old when we married; my ex-husband taught me to drive a manual transmission vehicle in this truck. Although I did grind the gears a bit at first, by the end of its lifetime, the truck still had the original clutch. The only thing wrong with the truck at the end of its lifetime was the U-joint, which had begun to go bad.
The truck was an extremely safe vehicle. It was totaled in a collision involving a 1-ton delivery truck that rear ended my truck. The driver of the other vehicle was traveling at approximately 35-40 miles per hour when he hit me; I was at a stop. The force of the crash bent the frame of the truck under the bed in half, shoved the bed into the cab (it ended up stopping one inch away from the back seat), caused the tinted rear window to shatter, and broke the driver’s seat. The back portion of the driver’s seat fell into a semi-reclining position and was not restorable to normal sitting position. Despite this extensive damage, my three children and I walked away from the accident without a scratch!
Our truck was a strong, durable, and safe vehicle, and since it was totaled, I have preferred pickup trucks over any other vehicle. My ex-husband had even used it once to tow a tractor trailer out of a ditch. The truck was an excellent first vehicle for me; I had an easy time learning how to drive a manual transmission vehicle in it. Based on my experiences with this truck, I have recommended Chevrolet vehicles to other people who were looking for a new car.