Auto mechanics and parts are the family business.
I've owned 3 Chevrolets in my lifetime (about to purchase the 4th; I love the new Impala), and have never had a serious engine problem in my life.
If I recall, I had to replace an alternator in my 85 Chevette (first car I ever owned! But don't worry, it was the 4-door hatchback model!), and one starter in my 92 Corsica. Got over 200,000 miles on both of them. The last one (the 98 Blazer) eventually lost a battle with an exposed, raised manhole (tore the bottom out. Bummer!), and it had just topped 97,000.
None of these vehicles ever failed to get me through snow or mud, and with routine maintenance (I do admit to once running the Chevette for over a year without an oil change. Thank you, Mobil 1!), will always start.
You cannot kill a Chevy engine,in my experience.
Anyone I've ever known that has owned a Ford or Chrysler product has had nothing but complaints about them, but somehow they still buy them anyway.
I'm not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, and the only Ford I've ever owned was one my wife brought into the household when we married. Frankly, it (a Taurus) was probably the worst car I've ever owned. Other than that, I've owned 4 Chevy's, a Honda, and a Datsun. But I stand by what I said: for a good part of the '80s, Ford had the better overall engine lineup. And, there are many Ford owners that can say the exact same thing about Ford that you said about Chevy (and vice versa) -- that they've never had a serious engine problem, or that you couldn't kill the engine. The Chevy 350 and the Ford 302, in no particular order, are the best engines I've ever driven.
However, I will say this: if I searched long and hard, I could find multiple consumer complaints and/or lawsuits that the Chevette and Corsica were the basis of. I don't know how many people had your experience with either, but plenty had bad experiences with one or the other (or both). Not saying that Ford's non-V8 lineup was any better (and you couldn't give me a Chrysler), but you won't convince me that either were anything other than below-average vehicles.
I have no interest in a domestic vehicle without a V8.