Renze, chains on the old V-block Detroit products definitely aren't lifetime maintanence free! They rarely last much beyond 100k miles, if that long. Chains on the newer overhead cam engines are a different story. They are engineered differently, and they last much longer.
Timing belts are primarily only used on modern small displacement overhead cam engines, and started with the Japanese cars and trucks. And visual inspection of timing belts is NOT a good indicator, as they are known to occasionally strip the teeth right off of the belts, even when the rest of the belt looks good, if the recommended mileages for changes are exceeded.
I don't know about American products, but I know that most Honda and Nissan products will likely cause serious internal damages if the timing belt strips or breaks, while most Toyota products are non-interference and a broken belt won't cause any engine damage.