The area I live in is messy, and it gets slightly worse. Many people that live by Lake Michigan and other large bodies of water get "lake effect snow." Basically the wind will pick up water vapor like a coastal town and dump high quantities of snow overnight. Sometimes it's light and fluffy, and each snowflake is an octuple-size cluster and offers very poor travel visibility. Not the worst thing ever, but contributes to that much more precipitation and thus more salt.
I don't plan on buying any more GMT400's for the rest of my life (unless I get a smokin' deal, haven't found an opportunity yet). All of them have gifted rust in the eyes...BUT! - Between galvanizing, paint, primers, whatever, GMT400's held up the longest to the test. I'm amazed how many are still on the roads here, even in seemingly bad shape.
There's trucks out by me that will be 4-6 years old and rusted through the bedsides. Local dealers will literally buy fender flares and stick them on a stock rotted truck and slightly mark up the price like it's upgraded option. $21,000 for rust bubbles ready to pop? Me thinks not.
Can't help but feel bad for those still making huge payments on a truck and it's crumbling in your driveway. It's not like it's affordable to go buy a new one every 3 years, especially for your average Joe or your elder that doesn't have the gusto for wrenching anymore.