What the F@#& was chevy thinking?

I friend had the heater core go out on his '03 Z71, TEN hours book time! Had to remove the entire dash to get to it. I could remember about 12 years ago working at the dealer and being able to swap an auto. trans. in any F-series truck in about 6 hours. Seems like the manufacturers are making things more and more difficult so you have to use them to fix it. Makes you wonder how much longer are we going to have the small independent shops with all the specialized tools and equipment you need for even simple repairs.