Car pixies, please! [updated 4/20, post #19] - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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I always had Japanese cars, with a particular fondness for Toyota. When I was ill my car needed repair, I couldn't drive so my kids decided it should be permanently retires. When I was able to drive again, I wanted to buy a reasonably priced used car. Used Toyotas were expensive (as were Subarus) and flew off the market so my kids and mechanic convinced me to buy a used Chevy-half the price of a 8-10 year old Toyota, less than half the milage and only 2 years old-priced at 2/3 of Blue Book.
I cannot wait for this car to die. I miss my Toyotas (which generally got well over 200K and close to 300K). Sorry, but Chevy just doesn't feel like a Toyota. I haven't had problems with this car but Toyotas (even Corollas) handle much better and feel more secure.
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Well, it turned out one of the baffles in the fuel tank is broken (whatever a baffle is --I have a general idea), so they'll have to replace the whole tank, another $500. Bummer, but it should still be fixed today.
DH thinks the baffle might have broken in my accident Labor Day weekend, and the broken baffle likely is what damaged the regulator. Long story short, that means 1) insurance would've likely paid for it if it had happened right away (no way to prove it now) and 2) it wasn't a defect with the car, but an artifact of the accident.
Either way, if it had to happen, I'm glad it happened near home, and I still my Traverse!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jenifermg0
Since the tank was EMPTY...make sure they check the fuel pump/fuel injector as well, just to be safe. Running out of gas can (but not always) cause damage to those.
At least that's what my father used to tell me. Of course he might have been trying to scare me so that I wouldn't let the car get that low on gas.
Thanks!
I just asked, and was told they checked, and it generally is only a problem if you habitually let it run to empty (and it "sucks up all the crap at the bottom of the tank"). Always good to check, so thanks again!
I cannot wait for this car to die. I miss my Toyotas (which generally got well over 200K and close to 300K). Sorry, but Chevy just doesn't feel like a Toyota. I haven't had problems with this car but Toyotas (even Corollas) handle much better and feel more secure.
My DSil typically drives Subarus (she has had two or three in the past several years - I can't remember exactly) and when she drove my little Malibu a few weeks ago and couldn't stop raving about the smooth ride and the how quiet it is. My BFF refers to the Malibu as "plush." My EOR (that's on the license plate) has exactly all the extras I want and can use. I don't have a bunch of extra stuff that I had to pay for that I don't use and everything that I did pay for gets used regularly! My Dad had so many "extras" on his Terrain - and he didn't use at least half of them.
It's sad that you are less than happy with your car - regardless of what kind of car it is...guess it all just comes down to each car and each driver's personal preferences.
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Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!! OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!! I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub! 2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
Last edited by jenifermg0; 04-20-2016 at 12:43 PM..
I think you get used to something and then it's hard to change. I rent cars once a month or so and enjoy trying new makes.
I suspect my car will die in the next could of years and I will get a new one. This one is fine and was a really good deal, especially since I had been out of work for a year and was just starting up again. And I don't like to have a car payment -it meets that.
I am curious as to how your Malibu is in the snow. Even with snow tires my Colbalt is "meh" at best. I avoid snow covered hills and stay home.
I am curious as to how your Malibu is in the snow. Even with snow tires my Colbalt is "meh" at best. I avoid snow covered hills and stay home.
I love the way it drives and responds. I have never had any issues with snow or ice. A little bit of tire spinning, but nothing I wouldn't expect on any car. It is front-wheel drive and I run all-season radials - I personally hate studs. Never gotten stuck or hit anything due to ice on the roads. It handles well. The only issue I have had was making the adjustment from rear-wheel and all-wheel drive to driving a front-wheel drive vehicle...they respond differently and there was a bit of a learning curve! You should know, however, I grew up driving here in Alaska on snowy or icy roads in rear-wheel drive cars running only all-season tires. Never ran studs except half of one winter due to the others going bad unexpectedly. Didn't really notice any major difference.
I think the Malibu are a bit heavier (bigger) than the Colbalt and that can make the difference in how they are on snow and ice.
We have had very different winters since I got it back in 2014. One with MASSIVE snow falls, one with lots of ice storms and a couple with practically nothing (other than the occasional dump just to mess with us that then melts in two days). So I would like to think that I have driven it in lots of different types of conditions. Also, I do a lot of in-town driving as well as highway/freeway driving and some back road (narrow with lots of curves!!) driving.
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Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!! OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!! I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub! 2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
Last edited by jenifermg0; 04-20-2016 at 03:17 PM..
I have winter tires (not stud) but was shocked at how bad my car is in the snow. This winter wasn't bad but last winter we had 140+ inches of snow as we did the year before. I have front wheel drive and haven't driven a rear wheel drive vehicle since the 70s. I remember the first time I tried to go up a hill-fortunately a fire truck was clearing hydrants because I was stuck.
My guess is this car is lighter than my Toyotas and that's why it's not so good. I also really don't do much "city driving" mostly country roads and a good number of hills.
Jennifer, glad your Malibu handles well.
Ginger, amny years ago I had an accident and 6 months later the mechanic discovered a leak in the radiator he though was related to the accident. Not sure there is much that can be done.
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--I have a general idea), so they'll have to replace the whole tank, another $500. Bummer, but it should still be fixed today.
my Traverse!
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