u/all4mom

What has been your experience with this? As I write in another post, I've been dating a man with ten-year Parkinson's for about year now. I although we agree I'm not falling into a caregiver role, I have identified and accompanied him to a few different PD support groups in hopes of him finding others with the same problem (he didn't know any or reveal his disease readily) and haven't been too impressed with any of them. In one, the emphasis is on remaining very positive and "fighting" the disease; that discussion is just regular social small talk about unrelated matters, because "we're more than our PD." It seems to me you could chit-chat with anyone, but not discuss the hard parts of PD with anyone but other sufferers/caregivers. Yet another is just either a presentation, usually by some home health agency or company selling mobility aids and lunch or everyone reading along while a member reads a print-out. The first was "early signs," and everyone was asked to share theirs. I don't see how this helped patients many years into their diagnosis. Finally, I've spend some time with a few of his good friends and even close family members, and NO ONE ever broaches it, asks, or talks about it. If I try, it's shut down. It's as if the whole world were in denial or putting their heads in the sand. Where can a patient and caregiver (or concerned friend) go for some honest talk, brainstorming solutions, or just venting to each other about perfectly normal fears, frustrations, and grief? Not to be critical, I'm sure they're doing their best, but my friend doesn't get much out of them; nor has he made friends there with whom he could walk through this in real life.

Believe me, I'm the biggest fan and promoter of the early model Yaris (2007 to about 2012; NOT a fan of the redesigns in recent years) and had planned to keep my 2008 hatch "forever," just fixing whatever breaks, but it recently suffered catastrophic injuries, which has caused me to rethink this. Once I saw it up on the rack, I noticed quite a bit of rust (in fact, my rear wheel axle cracked, making it currently undrivable), as I do live where there's snow, and they do dump it down! I was told it will be about $2k to fix that, and then there *could* be something wrong with the transmission and/or catalytic converter besides to the tune of almost $8k for a $10k total. I would almost be tempted to pay that to preserve it, but now I'm afraid of what might break next. I'm not just an around-the-town driver, but make long road trips and navigate some pretty hairy traffic. I see people online buying 18-20 years old cars with great enthusiasm (they are sooo cute, and I love them, too) but just wonder if anyone else is concerned about not just its reliability, but survival.

I'd like to see more or generate some discussion on this topic, as I've been involved with a PD patient for about a year and notice that almost all others in local support groups have spouses to whom they've been married for 30-40 years who gradually and naturally help them as they become more disabled. We have both been honest about this from the beginning: he revealed his diagnosis (I'd actually discerned the signs before), and I've been transparent about not wishing to become a caregiver, as I've already spent years of my life doing this for a family member. We have basically agreed to just enjoy life together day by day and make the most of it without planning on marriage, but I feel uncomfortable things go unsaid and need to be settled between us. '

Anyone else in this situation who would like to share?

Wondering if Spark owners tend to lean younger since it's a tiny, fun car. I may be the exception, buying my first at age 67! But I'm very petite as well as frugal and practical, and it fits me. This is the first time I haven't had to sit on a "booster" to drive!

My 2008 base Yaris hatch, bought new with just 3 miles on it and now at only 188k, met with great misfortune when I got it stuck in the mud, repeatedly jerked it from drive to reverse (auto) while gunning the engine attempting to rock it out, and then had it inexpertly towed out. The diagnosis is crack through the rear axle (for starters), and then possibly also severe power loss due to a transmission failure or a clogged catalytic converter or simply the tire itself... Or none of the above... It's apparently impossible to tell as long as it's undriveable, which it will be until I replace the part at an estimated cost of $2k. That's if I can find that part and anyone to do it. I'm having a hard time facing the inevitable, as I know this, the greatest car ever, still has a lot of life left in it. What are my options other than sending it to the salvage yard, which I'd hate to do???

Anyone else addicted to these? 100 to 500 pieces are plenty for me, and you'd pay three times as much at any thrift store with the risk of a piece being missing! They keep changing out the designs, so I keep buying!

Why is everything so ugly now? Why has the Capitol building and surrounding area been ruined by not only that permanent scaffolding and those ugly metal buildings - the floral clock, the governor's (the people's) mansion, and even the rose garden has been fenced off to the public - but also so many trees cut down, lanes narrowed, pedestrian walkways and bike lanes added, paint all over every road, stop signs literally every. single. block (my brakes are going to wear out), and garish flashing warning lights all over the avenue, scenic Louisville Road, and Lafayette Stret every five feet ruining the view. Not to mention every. single. bridge. to downtown being out! Looks like "Nanny Government" hard at work spending our tax dollars. Such a cute little town is now one big eyesore. Is this the governor, the mayor, or what?

As others have noted, even with the rear seat popped out, the back doesn't lie completely flat. I didn't have this problem with my 2008 Toyota Yaris, even with the seat still in place, so seems like a bad design here. I used to actually sleep on the back seat of my former car, as I'm small, but the Spark has that weird, hard cupholder (another bad idea) in the middle of it, making that impossible. What have others done to car camp in this vehicle? I would dread removing the entire seat - where to put it??? - and laying down a wood platform, but that seems to be the only way to do it.

I always admired the Spark, but also always thought that gold bow tie looked out of place and, frankly, tacky compared to other silver or black emblems. Looking for the best way to black mine out. What have others done to make it look a little classier?

I feel very fortunate to have found my 2021 Spark 1LT, 44k. Never thought I'd own a domestic car, much less a Chevy, after 50 years of driving only imported (mostly Japanese and primarily Toyota), but I was in a pinch and gave this cute little mighty mite a try. So zippy and fun to drive, tiny (actually micro versus subcompact), and has everything I could possibly want. Also considered the Mirage, Mazda2, updated Yaris, and Fiat Pop, but the Spark won out. Zeroed in on it and searched; saw this one as soon as it popped up on the Lexus dealer listing. Test drove it before it had even been looked at (it had been deemed "tan") or cleaned up. Paid $13k out the door with four new tires and home-delivery. Looking forward to many years of reliable and enjoyable service from it. Enough "bells and whistles" to make life easier, namely cruise control, but no extraneous or complicated ones. Yay, my new Spark and me!

https://preview.redd.it/o00srcotb6fh1.jpg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9704dd4e39376e07486d259efa42802a06deeb56

Bought my first pre-owned today after admiring this car for years, but being very happy with my previous one until it bit the dust at almost 20. However, I'm confused; is Toasted Marshmallow exterior color an anomaly in the 2021 model? I just read that it wasn't offered that year, being available only in 2016-2020!