So why are they limiting the number of car passes to the number actually used last year? Why not make more available than what they expect will be needed? Are they trying to create a shortage or at least the fear that they may be hard to get?

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I like the idea of threaded connectors, but, at this point, I don't want to retrofit with new connectors. I will try it on any new projects, though.
I'll use some of the other suggestions this year and see which work best for me.

I use the normal PVC connectors, elbows, etc to create a shade structure out of 1" schedule 40 PVC. Dismantling the structure takes a lot of pounding with a mallet on the edges of the connectors in order to separate the pieces. Does anyone have suggestions about how to do this more easily?

Thanks!

So, my STEP link is about 7 lines long, ending with about 500 random characters. Is that the way it's supposed to look?