News:

Thank you for your patience during the Forum downtime while we upgraded the software. Welcome back and see this thread for some new features and other changes to the forum.

Main Menu

License Plate News

Started by Alex, February 04, 2010, 10:38:53 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Central Avenue

Quote from: 6a on August 22, 2012, 07:53:39 PM
How about this stream of consciousness...all it's missing is a twitter tag.



Here's the final version, now that all the slogans (if you can call them that) have been voted on:


I notice that from the earlier mock-up to the final design, they switched from Gotham to Myriad. Not sure I'm a fan of that decision; I think Gotham captures the aesthetic they were going for much better than Myriad does.

I do like one other change, though: the red banner now goes all the way across the top.
Routewitches. These children of the moving road gather strength from travel . . . Rather than controlling the road, routewitches choose to work with it, borrowing its strength and using it to make bargains with entities both living and dead. -- Seanan McGuire, Sparrow Hill Road


Takumi

It looks like the final design has more slogans.
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
Olive Garden must be stopped.  I must stop them.

Don't @ me. Seriously.

Alps

Quote from: agentsteel53 on August 30, 2012, 12:41:24 PM
... Norman?

not Oklahoma City or even Tulsa?

Norman has a population of just over 100,000.  why would Austin bother hating what is really a suburb of OKC?


it's college football season

The High Plains Traveler

"Tongue-tied and twisted; just an earth-bound misfit, I."

Scott5114

Quote from: agentsteel53 on August 30, 2012, 12:41:24 PM
... Norman?

not Oklahoma City or even Tulsa?

Norman has a population of just over 100,000.  why would Austin bother hating what is really a suburb of OKC?

also, they'd probably hate DFW or Houston because the cultures of those two places are radically different as well.  most similar to Austin in my opinion is San Antonio.


Yeah, it's sports again. Norman having OU and Austin having the University of Texas.

We got "Ann Arbor is a whore" a couple pages back and that city has around the same population.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

doorknob60

Not quite on topic, but my immature mind found this amusing:


vtk

Quote from: doorknob60 on September 05, 2012, 01:25:49 AM
Not quite on topic, but my immature mind found this amusing:



I think my mind took that a couple steps too far into "wrong" territory...
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

bulldog1979

Michigan is also updating its license plate that benefits the US Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan. Like the previous one it is replacing, it costs and extra $35 to initially purchase, with $25 of that fee funding the USOEC. Renewals are an extra $10/year with the entire fee being going to the USOEC. The center is one of four in the US, but the only one attached to a university.

Michigan offering new Olympics license plate" The Detroit News. Associated Press. September 6, 2012.

allniter89

Quote from: doorknob60 on September 05, 2012, 01:25:49 AM
Not quite on topic, but my immature mind found this amusing:


and on a school bus yet.
BUY AMERICAN MADE.
SPEED SAFELY.

agentsteel53

that's nothing compared to this ...

live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

StogieGuy7

Well, I can tell that I am on the losing side of history on this comment, but I really dislike the flat 3M plates!  Saw a truck plate from NE the other day and it looked like something that came out of a high school metal shop!  Fake.  Nor can you see any of the digits if there's a bright light at an oblique angle.  And I especially HATE the 3M font!  At least states like TN and MN seem to use a decent font that make their flat plates seem acceptable.  But what NV and AZ did to their formerly attractive plates was atrocious.   They went from being really attractive as embossed plates to uggggggly as flat ones.

Given that prerequisite, I don't like the new Texas tags.  Were they embossed, they'd look crisp, simple and clean.  However, in flat 3M form, they are sure to look amateurish and boring.

Lastly, all cars should have 2 license plates.  Almost every other country in the world requires that (aside from a couple of Canadian provinces), the reason being that you often need to see the registration number from the front.  States that only issue one are being cheapskates and most charge you just as much as they would have if they stayed with 2 plates. 

corco

QuoteBut what NV and AZ did to their formerly attractive plates was atrocious.   They went from being really attractive as embossed plates to uggggggly as flat ones.

I feel like Arizona did a really good job with the transition to flat plate. See Idaho for an example of a clusterfuck.

The High Plains Traveler

Quote from: corco on September 17, 2012, 05:07:57 PM
QuoteBut what NV and AZ did to their formerly attractive plates was atrocious.   They went from being really attractive as embossed plates to uggggggly as flat ones.

I feel like Arizona did a really good job with the transition to flat plate. See Idaho for an example of a clusterfuck.
I agree. Almost any embossed plate beats any of the flat plates. Those states that have retained a distinctive font on the flat plates, though, certainly beat the butt-ugly 3M generic font (bu3Mgf, for short). At least Nebraska has gone to a unique font on its new plates that looks pretty good, and those plates that Colorado does issue using the digital process such as special issue or vanity plates, duplicate the embossed letterset closely.
"Tongue-tied and twisted; just an earth-bound misfit, I."

StogieGuy7

Quote from: corco on September 17, 2012, 05:07:57 PM
QuoteBut what NV and AZ did to their formerly attractive plates was atrocious.   They went from being really attractive as embossed plates to uggggggly as flat ones.

I feel like Arizona did a really good job with the transition to flat plate. See Idaho for an example of a clusterfuck.

If you look at the embossed AZ plates and compare with the new flat plates, it's no contest.  The flat plates are not nearly as attractive, nor do the letters stand out nearly as well.  The same is true of Nevada's plates, which have an even uglier font.  Fact is, it's hard to get the digits to stand out on a flat plate and, when they use that horrible 3M font, it just looks awful.

And yes, I agree, Idaho's plates now officially look like crap.  Interestingly, WY does (or at least did) offer you the option of an embossed plate for a nominal fee.  These are supposedly made in Colorado and they look a lot better than the flat ones.

kphoger

While I generally dislike flat plates, Tennessee's flat plates look great.  I don't think that issue was ever issued as an embossed plate, though, to make the same kind of comparison.

Most countries' plates are flat plates, aren't they?

Regarding front plates, I think it would save me some police stops in México.  Some officers seem to be looking for cars without license plates, so our car is immediately suspect.  In June, I was specifically asked by an officer where my front license plate was; I explained that my state doesn't issue them, and he was satisfied with that answer.  It's a good thing he believed me, since I also didn't have my vehicle paperwork in the car at the time (oops).

However....when, exactly, does one need to see the registration number from the front?  I can't think of a time I've needed to.  If two plates would cost me more than one plate, then I'd rather save the money and spend seven seconds walking to the back of my car should the need ever arise.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

6a

Quote from: Central Avenue on August 31, 2012, 05:36:18 PM



I do like one other change, though: the red banner now goes all the way across the top.

I still say that banner would look better if it were in the shape of the Erie shoreline.  Have you seen the new 30-day tags here?  They have an orange background that resembles this design, but I haven't been able to get a closeup.

The High Plains Traveler

Quote from: StogieGuy7 on September 17, 2012, 04:13:53 PM

Lastly, all cars should have 2 license plates.  Almost every other country in the world requires that (aside from a couple of Canadian provinces), the reason being that you often need to see the registration number from the front.  States that only issue one are being cheapskates and most charge you just as much as they would have if they stayed with 2 plates. 
License plates cost next to nothing to produce. What you're paying for is a registration tax, which varies greatly by state.
"Tongue-tied and twisted; just an earth-bound misfit, I."

J N Winkler

Quote from: kphoger on September 18, 2012, 02:29:32 PMHowever....when, exactly, does one need to see the registration number from the front?  I can't think of a time I've needed to.

A front license plate increases the chances you can report at least a partial plate to the police if a stranger attempts to kill you by running you down with a car.
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini

roadfro

Quote from: StogieGuy7 on September 18, 2012, 10:05:52 AM
Quote from: corco on September 17, 2012, 05:07:57 PM
QuoteBut what NV and AZ did to their formerly attractive plates was atrocious.   They went from being really attractive as embossed plates to uggggggly as flat ones.

I feel like Arizona did a really good job with the transition to flat plate. See Idaho for an example of a clusterfuck.

If you look at the embossed AZ plates and compare with the new flat plates, it's no contest.  The flat plates are not nearly as attractive, nor do the letters stand out nearly as well.  The same is true of Nevada's plates, which have an even uglier font. 

Definitely have to agree on the Nevada plate font.

I find it ironic that Nevada DMV currently has a "circa 1982" specialty plate, which intends to mimic the plain white-on-blue style of the license plates issued at that time. This was something that was to appeal to long-time residents for the novelty of having the old-style plates (any actual blue plates issued before 1983 are still street legal if in good condition, so seeing those on cars is typically a status symbol that the driver/owner is a native Nevadan).  Shortly after they started offering this old style plate, Nevada went to the flat plates, so now the style meant to mimic the past has nothing but the ugly font on a blue field. It's horrible cause they look nothing like the 1982 style now, but some people still get them...
Roadfro - AARoads Pacific Southwest moderator since 2010, Nevada roadgeek since 1983.

kphoger

Quote from: J N Winkler on September 19, 2012, 01:06:21 AM
Quote from: kphoger on September 18, 2012, 02:29:32 PMHowever....when, exactly, does one need to see the registration number from the front?  I can't think of a time I've needed to.

A front license plate increases the chances you can report at least a partial plate to the police if a stranger attempts to kill you by running you down with a car.

Not to be snarky, but that's somehow never come up thus far in my life, nor (as far as I know) in the life of anybody I know.  So I am hesitant to say it's worth it to require front plates for that reason.

As an aside, and not to derail the topic at hand, I had a boss who was cycling in Massachusetts one time, and had a car see how close it could get to his bicycle while passing him.  They misjudged and clipped his pedal, and he did a face plant into a granite wall.  After getting back on his bike, he continued down the hill to the police station (I don't know if he waited for the light to turn green), pulled a paint chip out of his pedal, and said they should look for a red Fiero with a piece of paint missing from the right side.  They caught the guys, no license plate number needed.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

StogieGuy7

Quote from: kphoger on September 18, 2012, 02:29:32 PM
Most countries' plates are flat plates, aren't they?

Some are, but the majority are - in some form - embossed.  The best-known "flat" plate country has to be the UK; but most of mainland Europe has embossed plates.  Australia and New Zealand also have embossed plates as do China and Japan.   I can't think of any Latin American countries that have flat plates and all of the aforementioned regions require cars to have two plates. 

Flat plates are seen in certain Caribbean island nations (generally former British territories) and in some very small or poor nations that don't have the demand nor the money to emboss a license plate.   The largest 'flat plate' nation that I can think of is India, though there is such a variety of plates on the road that it can be hard to know what is legit and what is not.  Typical of their disorganization, I guess.   Almost all are flat though.   

apeman33

Quote from: agentsteel53 on September 06, 2012, 08:49:16 PM
that's nothing compared to this ...



My hometown team, the Finney County Blues, used to play them during summer American Legion baseball.

OCGuy81

This is a late reporting, but sometime this year California got a new baseplate.  Wait for it....the new plate added the website for the DMV! Wow, cutting edge, right?

It looked like it happened around the 6Uxx series.   I find myself wishing the state would bring back the sunset plates.  My personal favorites.

Occidental Tourist

Quote from: OCGuy81 on September 28, 2012, 10:16:48 AM
I find myself wishing the state would bring back the sunset plates.  My personal favorites.

:clap:

agentsteel53

Quote from: OCGuy81 on September 28, 2012, 10:16:48 AM
This is a late reporting, but sometime this year California got a new baseplate.  Wait for it....the new plate added the website for the DMV! Wow, cutting edge, right?

It looked like it happened around the 6Uxx series.   I find myself wishing the state would bring back the sunset plates.  My personal favorites.

cutoff is 6TPV vs. 6TPW but we are not sure yet if it was the exact 999/000 transition or not.
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.