License Plate News

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Speaking about licence plates in Ohio. Evidently, there is now a debate at the statehouse concerning whether cars need front licence plates or not.
http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2011/jun/22/license-plate-debate-front-and-back-goes-back-and--ar-557599/

[agentsteel53]

So says he who lives in the ultimate post-war tract housing state.

not by choice.  if my employer weren't here, I wouldn't be either.

[Alex]

Gov. Deal unveils Georgia's new license plate design today

At a news conference this morning in the State Capitol Gov. Nathan Deal will announce the winner of the Georgia License Plate Design Contest. A survey taken outside the Muscogee County Tag Office Thursday showed a clear local favorite.

Five Columbus people were shown a picture of the three finalists. Each preferred the same plate.

Of the three finalists, only one has the name Georgia in script rather than printed. That was the big difference to those surveyed. All three feature peaches -- Georgia law requires the license plates to "advertise, popularize and otherwise promote Georgia as the Peach State"  -- but the most popular had them more prominently displayed

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

One thing I think states, especially dual-plate states need to get off their asses and offer are euro clone plates.  They're available in some (all?) Australian states, so why not here?  It could be done on a contract basis, it'd take a little longer since they'd be made-up on demand to reduce wasted costs, but I'd have no problem waiting.

Some would think it's stupid, but for some (like me) who drive and are enthusiastic about our European cars, being able to legally make them look that much more 'at home' would be nice.

Edit:  Like this.


AL is a one-plate state so that's legal, but I'd love to be able to run one on the back as well.

[1995hoo]

^^^ I believe there is some sort of interstate compact (to which the Mexican stares and Canadian provinces also belong) governing the size of license plates and that European-size plates violate the standard. So in a one-plate state, the rear plate has to be the normal North American size.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

^^^ I believe there is some sort of interstate compact (to which the Mexican stares and Canadian provinces also belong) governing the size of license plates and that European-size plates violate the standard. So in a one-plate state, the rear plate has to be the normal North American size.

I believe that's more a guideline than a law, but I could be wrong.

Another part of why I like the euro plates is because they're SIMPLE.  I'm tired of all this cutesy shit they put on license plates these days.  I want a plain, fully-embossed plate that just has a solid color background with a contrasting foreground color like the old days.

With places like licenseplates.tv, there's no reason they couldn't give us the option to have that on a contracted basis.  I'd pay any fee they wanted me to and wait as long as it took because I like SIMPLE PLATES.  Honestly, California's plate is my current favorite.

[Brandon]

One thing I think states, especially dual-plate states need to get off their asses and offer are euro clone plates.  They're available in some (all?) Australian states, so why not here?  It could be done on a contract basis, it'd take a little longer since they'd be made-up on demand to reduce wasted costs, but I'd have no problem waiting.

Puke.  Euro-plates are the ugliest license plates I have ever seen.  A number and nothing else.  No neat design, no slogan, no nothing but a BORING number. 

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

Puke.  Euro-plates are the ugliest license plates I have ever seen.  A number and nothing else.  No neat design, no slogan, no nothing but a BORING number. 

1.  That's why it'd be OPTIONAL.

2.  Look at my posts, some of us LIKE simple, "boring" plates and resent the fact that we don't have a CHOICE in the matter.

[apeman33]

I'd have to imagine the Highway Patrols of various states would enjoy the return of "boring" plates that they could actually read from a distance. It becomes sort of ironic when it becomes difficult to read what a personalized plate says.

[SP Cook]

I believe that's more a guideline than a law, but I could be wrong.

It is an intergovernmental agreement fostered by the then US Big Three auto makers via the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.  Stylists felt constrained as they had to make provisions for various sized plates.  Entered into in 1957, although most states had joined earlier.  Even the NWT's bear shaped plate is covered since it fits the spaces.  It was a US/Canada deal, and most of the Americas joined in, as they then sourced their cars from the USA. 

In the Caribbean, it is a mix as most of the Latin countires, and the Dutch, went the US style, while the British and French use Euro style.  St. Martin is interesting as half of the cars are French, with French plates, and half are Dutch, with a US style plate (with the motto in English, despite the supposed legal status of Dutch). 

[Alex]

Spotted a couple of news bits of interest on licenseplates.cc:

New general issue license plates for Mississippi in 2012:
http://licenseplates.cc/news/Mississippi-2012-design-unveiled

New general issue license plates for Ohio in 2012:
http://licenseplates.cc/news/Ohio:-The-Slogan-State

[sandwalk]

Spotted a couple of news bits of interest on licenseplates.cc:

New general issue license plates for Ohio in 2012:
http://licenseplates.cc/news/Ohio:-The-Slogan-State

I know Ohio's current plates...the one's with the yellow and blue tint, barn, hills, and city skyline....have been controversial since day one.  I hear a lot of people call it the "Hee-Haw" plate LOL.  I hated it at first, but then it grew on me and I actually have them on my car now.  Surprisingly, it complements my fire-engine-red car.

I actually like the 'Hee-Haw' plate better than this proposed new design.  The new design is pretty bland, IMO.  I do, however, like the simplicity of the design and the outline of the state in the first "O" in Ohio.  But having 50 gray-colored slogans (some of which make no sense) scattered all in the background is boring and impossible to read, unless you're stand right next to the vehicle.

I do miss having the county names on the plates......obviously the numbers make it harder to tell where someone is from.

[allniter89]

Spotted a couple of news bits of interest on licenseplates.cc:

New general issue license plates for Ohio in 2012:
http://licenseplates.cc/news/Ohio:-The-Slogan-State

I know Ohio's current plates...the one's with the yellow and blue tint, barn, hills, and city skyline....have been controversial since day one.  I hear a lot of people call it the "Hee-Haw" plate LOL.  I hated it at first, but then it grew on me and I actually have them on my car now.  Surprisingly, it complements my fire-engine-red car.

I actually like the 'Hee-Haw' plate better than this proposed new design.  The new design is pretty bland, IMO.  I do, however, like the simplicity of the design and the outline of the state in the first "O" in Ohio.  But having 50 gray-colored slogans (some of which make no sense) scattered all in the background is boring and impossible to read, unless you're stand right next to the vehicle.

I do miss having the county names on the plates......obviously the numbers make it harder to tell where someone is from.

I like MS but I think OH could do better.
I'd like to see every state have county names on their plates. Why not?

[vtk]

I like the new ohio design. It's scarlet and gray, and simple too.

[corco]

That's a gorgeous plate- the current Ohio plate could easily be from just about any state that doesn't have an ocean along it. Much more unique and easily identifiable

[andrewkbrown]

I like the new Ohio plates as well. Easy to read the state name, which has been difficult since the white and gold plates. And I like the overall simplicity as well. I like simple plates, which must be why I like my current Virginia plates.

And I too would also like to see Ohio go back to county names on the bottom.

[6a]

That's a gorgeous plate- the current Ohio plate could easily be from just about any state that doesn't have an ocean along it. Much more unique and easily identifiable

I like it as well but there is a part of me that wouldn't mind the triangle being the actual shape of the Lake Erie shoreline...it's damn near the same, but unique.

Another tidbit that's been tossed about is the fact the driver's licenses are being redesigned with the same look as well and apparently it's the first time a state will have matching plates and licenses.

Edit: You can vote for the slogans that will appear here.  Some of these choices are bullshit of the first order, though 

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

I like it...as long as it will still be embossed.  If they go print-only, toss it in the bin with all the other ugly plates.  I don't care what anyone else says, print-only ruins a plate no matter how attractive it is otherwise.

[6a]

I'd like to see every state have county names on their plates. Why not?

Ohio uses the bottom for crap like "apportioned" and "ambulette" and whatever specialty name it needs.  Since the county number is still on the plate, I guess they feel it's as good as the old school ones in other states where the county number was part of the plate number.

[corco]

I like it as well but there is a part of me that wouldn't mind the triangle being the actual shape of the Lake Erie shoreline...it's damn near the same, but unique.

Ooo..hey, yeah. That would have been a good call

[tdindy88]

Yeah, the Ohio plates are alright, I just could never read the name of the state while driving and had to assume by its colors that it was Ohio. I think some Hoosiers are having the reverse effect of previously having numbers on our plates for our counties to having the name of the counties on them. With the numbers there was a code and you had to be familar with it to understand where the driver was from, such as 49 for Marion County, 45 for Lake, and 2 for Allen. Now, the answer to the riddle is right there on the plate, that and you have people peeling the county name sticker off so that you don't know what county their from, with the older system that wasn't possible.

[vtk]

I like it...as long as it will still be embossed.  If they go print-only, toss it in the bin with all the other ugly plates.  I don't care what anyone else says, print-only ruins a plate no matter how attractive it is otherwise.

Only the standard-issue plates (the ones they hand you off the top of a stack at the BMV) are embossed.  If you want a logo or any special plate (even "historical" plates) or any specific number, you get a flat plate with a crappy font.  With the complexity and many colors of the current design ("Beautiful Ohio") I'm surprised any are embossed at all.

[1995hoo]

....

I'd like to see every state have county names on their plates. Why not?

I don't like the idea of county names on the plates because it seems like it would be a hassle when you move. Wouldn't you have to get the plates reissued? When I got married and my wife moved in with me, all she had to do with respect to the car was to update the registration with the DMV, register with Fairfax County for car tax reasons, and notify the City of Alexandria that she was moving out (again for car tax reasons). We did all that online. The plate stayed the same.

Almost all the counties and cities in Virginia used to use the odious "county sticker" where you paid your car tax and then you paid another fee to get this stupid sticker that you had to put on your windshield to prove you paid it. (Yes, you had to pay a fee to prove that you paid your tax.) A fair number of them have done away with the silly things, though not all (Fairfax County doesn't have them; Alexandria does.) One of the arguments for getting rid of them is that with modern computer technology, and with cops having access to such technology in their cars, the county sticker isn't necessary anymore. Seems to me the same argument should hold true for county names on license plates: If the cop is just going to run your plate number through a computer, then won't the computer tell him where the car is registered?

[stormwatch7721]

So what are the new Ohio plates supposed to look like or is it unveiled yet?

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

So what are the new Ohio plates supposed to look like or is it unveiled yet?