general problems of the 2000 Chevrolet S10

Tailgate cables on my 2000 chevy S10 have rusted through and broken. I have purchased new cables, but the repair requires replacing the entire latch. Even the parts people at the dealership were disgusted by this. Although there is a recall on some of the full sized gm trucks, the manufacturer does not seem concerned about their smaller truck customers. From what I've seen on the internet, this does not seem like an isolated case.