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[Ted$8roadFan]

I also appreciate the simplicity of the older plate designs, like the Massachusetts green and white plates (greenies) of my youth. Some of the graphic designs on newer plates, especially those that are de facto advertisements for websites, we could do without.

[GeekJedi]

I'm sometimes a bit worried about driving a car with Wisconsin plates in Chicago (although that worry is somewhat tempered by Wisconsin's concealed-carry law).

If you are in Chicago, then Illinois gun laws and not Wisconsin’s, would apply.  While many states have reciprocity with one another (my permit is good in 39 states) Illinois remains an outlier. 

Correct. Your WI CCP is not valid in Illinois, so you have to keep your stuff locked up in the trunk.

[Flint1979]

But nothing beats the good old pre-2007 white-on-blue scheme.

The one you like is blah IMO.

They should have kept the blue plates they had up until 2007.

Are you just trolling me now?

I didn't see where you said that but yeah I like those plates too.

Then what plate, which you claimed I like, do you think is blah?

I thought you said you liked the Pure Michigan one that's the one I think is blah. I'd rather have the pre 2007 plates.

[kphoger]

To clarify:

1.  The pre-2007 white on blue plates were the best.

2.  The 2007 issue, with the blue band at the top, was pretty good also—notwithstanding the addition of the URL.

3.  The Pure Michigan issue is just fine.  Not quite as good as the others, but better than probably 20% of the states' current issues.

4.  The new Water-Winter Wonderland plates look good on the computer, but I haven't seen one in person yet.  Are all the digits smooshed together, or is there a separation?  If there's no separation, that that's one downside IMHO.  Otherwise really good, though.

[SEWIGuy]

Going on record once again that nobody mixes up the era of Wisconsin license plates since they have had the same damn design since the mid-80s. A complete travesty.

[JoePCool14]

Going on record once again that nobody mixes up the era of Wisconsin license plates since they have had the same damn design since the mid-80s. A complete travesty.

And after all these years, I'm still not sure whether I like Wisconsin's plate design or not. I wouldn't mind a refresh, but I'm sure I'd want it if any new design would be tacky like many others.

[catch22]

To clarify:

1.  The pre-2007 white on blue plates were the best.

2.  The 2007 issue, with the blue band at the top, was pretty good also—notwithstanding the addition of the URL.

3.  The Pure Michigan issue is just fine.  Not quite as good as the others, but better than probably 20% of the states' current issues.

4.  The new Water-Winter Wonderland plates look good on the computer, but I haven't seen one in person yet.  Are all the digits smooshed together, or is there a separation?  If there's no separation, that that's one downside IMHO.  Otherwise really good, though.

No gaps.   Here's the first one I spotted in the wild a few months ago.

[SEWIGuy]

Going on record once again that nobody mixes up the era of Wisconsin license plates since they have had the same damn design since the mid-80s. A complete travesty.

And after all these years, I'm still not sure whether I like Wisconsin's plate design or not. I wouldn't mind a refresh, but I'm sure I'd want it if any new design would be tacky like many others.

At this point, I don't care how tacky it is. Just give me something new.

[Flint1979]

To clarify:

1.  The pre-2007 white on blue plates were the best.

2.  The 2007 issue, with the blue band at the top, was pretty good also—notwithstanding the addition of the URL.

3.  The Pure Michigan issue is just fine.  Not quite as good as the others, but better than probably 20% of the states' current issues.

4.  The new Water-Winter Wonderland plates look good on the computer, but I haven't seen one in person yet.  Are all the digits smooshed together, or is there a separation?  If there's no separation, that that's one downside IMHO.  Otherwise really good, though.

1. They were nice but I do like the Water Winter Wonderland ones better but those are a nice second. It'd be cool if you could have a choice between that plate and the Water Winter Wonderland one instead of the Pure Michigan one.

2. That wasn't as bad because it didn't feature the Pure Michigan thing. It seems like everything they have done is Pure Michigan this, Pure Michigan that. Even the welcome signs coming into the state say Welcome to Pure Michigan on them.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7261799,-83.6886605,3a,15y,316.26h,98.33t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s_elziCMon2NuV5h477Y_Pw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

3. It's probably middle of the pack just an average plate IMO. There are some that are worse and some that are better including Michigan's own Water Winter Wonderland plate.

4. They have 6 letters/numbers across the plate with no seperation and honestly it looks pretty good.

[Flint1979]

To clarify:

1.  The pre-2007 white on blue plates were the best.

2.  The 2007 issue, with the blue band at the top, was pretty good also—notwithstanding the addition of the URL.

3.  The Pure Michigan issue is just fine.  Not quite as good as the others, but better than probably 20% of the states' current issues.

4.  The new Water-Winter Wonderland plates look good on the computer, but I haven't seen one in person yet.  Are all the digits smooshed together, or is there a separation?  If there's no separation, that that's one downside IMHO.  Otherwise really good, though.

No gaps.   Here's the first one I spotted in the wild a few months ago.

The tab is in the wrong corner, it's supposed to be over that white line on the lower right.

[mgk920]

I'm sometimes a bit worried about driving a car with Wisconsin plates in Chicago (although that worry is somewhat tempered by Wisconsin's concealed-carry law).

If you are in Chicago, then Illinois gun laws and not Wisconsin’s, would apply.  While many states have reciprocity with one another (my permit is good in 39 states) Illinois remains an outlier. 

Correct. Your WI CCP is not valid in Illinois, so you have to keep your stuff locked up in the trunk.

There are more than a few who believe that they'd "rather be judged by twelve than carried by six".

Mike

[kphoger]

Going on record once again that nobody mixes up the era of Wisconsin license plates since they have had the same damn design since the mid-80s. A complete travesty.

The most significant change happened in 2000, when the color changed from (a) blue to red for the state name, (b) red to black for the serial, and (c) blue to red for the slogan/nickname.

[7/8]

I have seen some fugiy plates in my time, but the other day here in Colorado, i happened across one of, if not *THE* ugliest plate I have ever seen:

The Tennessee Fish Plate:  https://tnclerks.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/360000801123/Arts_-_Fish_cls_3635.jpg

Wow, and it costs $61.50 a year to have that beauty on your car! It honestly looks a shitpost. It also doesn't say anything about the Tennessee Arts Commission on the plate itself, which leaves you wondering what it's for.

There's only twenty or so unique color schemes you can do, so that means that you're going to have to have some duplicates between the states.

Yep, and that's totally fine.  I remember when Iowa looked like Michigan looked like Connecticut, Arizona looked like Missouri, Pennsylvania looked like (old) California, and New Hampshire looked like (old) Washington.  I couldn't always be 100% certain when license plate spotting from the other side of the Interstate on a family road trip, but so what?  No problem otherwise.

The problem isn't so much private citizens not being able to tell what state a plate is from—it's not a huge issue if you or I can't tell what state a car is from—as it is government officials having the same problem. I'd be pretty cheesed off if I had to pay a toll incurred by someone with the same plate number in a different state, just because both states used near-identical license plates and the toll authority couldn't figure out which state it belonged to.

And this is what bothers me about the special plates that many places issue. There should be a unifying theme to them so that it's easy to tell the state/province that it belongs to. I really like that Ontario places a logo on the left side for special plates, with the rest of the plate looking like the standard issue. It makes it easy to tell it's an Ontario plate from a distance.

[kalvado]

There's only twenty or so unique color schemes you can do, so that means that you're going to have to have some duplicates between the states.

Yep, and that's totally fine.  I remember when Iowa looked like Michigan looked like Connecticut, Arizona looked like Missouri, Pennsylvania looked like (old) California, and New Hampshire looked like (old) Washington.  I couldn't always be 100% certain when license plate spotting from the other side of the Interstate on a family road trip, but so what?  No problem otherwise.

The problem isn't so much private citizens not being able to tell what state a plate is from—it's not a huge issue if you or I can't tell what state a car is from—as it is government officials having the same problem. I'd be pretty cheesed off if I had to pay a toll incurred by someone with the same plate number in a different state, just because both states used near-identical license plates and the toll authority couldn't figure out which state it belonged to.

And this is what bothers me about the special plates that many places issue. There should be a unifying theme to them so that it's easy to tell the state/province that it belongs to. I really like that Ontario places a logo on the left side for special plates, with the rest of the plate looking like the standard issue. It makes it easy to tell it's an Ontario plate from a distance.

Maybe it is time to mandate state name being an explicit part of a license plate number rather than a decorative element at the edge? 

[SP Cook]

If we are really serious about “toll by plate” and all of that, then certainly making the state name readable, and do away with things like alumni plates for out of state colleges (is it a Georgia Alabama fan plate or a Alabama Georgia fan plate? ) and plate frames that obscure the material on the plate, will have to happen. 

Right now it looks like toll authorities are raking in so much dough that they just ignore all of this stuff..

[mgk920]

There's only twenty or so unique color schemes you can do, so that means that you're going to have to have some duplicates between the states.

Yep, and that's totally fine.  I remember when Iowa looked like Michigan looked like Connecticut, Arizona looked like Missouri, Pennsylvania looked like (old) California, and New Hampshire looked like (old) Washington.  I couldn't always be 100% certain when license plate spotting from the other side of the Interstate on a family road trip, but so what?  No problem otherwise.

The problem isn't so much private citizens not being able to tell what state a plate is from—it's not a huge issue if you or I can't tell what state a car is from—as it is government officials having the same problem. I'd be pretty cheesed off if I had to pay a toll incurred by someone with the same plate number in a different state, just because both states used near-identical license plates and the toll authority couldn't figure out which state it belonged to.

And this is what bothers me about the special plates that many places issue. There should be a unifying theme to them so that it's easy to tell the state/province that it belongs to. I really like that Ontario places a logo on the left side for special plates, with the rest of the plate looking like the standard issue. It makes it easy to tell it's an Ontario plate from a distance.

Maybe it is time to mandate state name being an explicit part of a license plate number rather than a decorative element at the edge?

I have pondered that within the past few years, having 'Euro' style plates where the first two characters are the postal  abbreviation for the state, province or territory in which the vehicle is registered and the seven after that being the number that the jurisdiction would otherwise have issued to the vehicle (ie, [CA-NLLLNNN] or [WI-LLL-NNNN], with perhaps some way to include the country in the number.

Mike

[kphoger]

Mexico handles it by having a nationwide pool of serial numbers, and each state being assigned blocks of serial numbers within it.

So, for example, if you spot a pickup truck from Mexico with license plate HX-3455-C, it doesn't matter that the state name is covered up by a frame:  it's from Jalisco.  Or if you see a passenger car with license plate A14-NVD-4, you can be sure it's a Fronteriza plate from Baja California, even if you can't see the state name.

[Halian]

Personally, I'm not a fan of most of the graphical issues going around right now, as they're either (IMO) too loud and/or too ugly. Similarly, I'll take a pass on flat plates as a matter of course.

* Halian pseudorelatedly wonders if a thread for custom/fictional license plate designs already exists

[kphoger]

* Halian pseudorelatedly wonders if a thread for custom/fictional license plate designs already exists

I made one for fictional license plate serial blocks, but that might be too geeky for what you're wanting.

You also might enjoy this post from 2013.

[kalvado]

There's only twenty or so unique color schemes you can do, so that means that you're going to have to have some duplicates between the states.

Yep, and that's totally fine.  I remember when Iowa looked like Michigan looked like Connecticut, Arizona looked like Missouri, Pennsylvania looked like (old) California, and New Hampshire looked like (old) Washington.  I couldn't always be 100% certain when license plate spotting from the other side of the Interstate on a family road trip, but so what?  No problem otherwise.

The problem isn't so much private citizens not being able to tell what state a plate is from—it's not a huge issue if you or I can't tell what state a car is from—as it is government officials having the same problem. I'd be pretty cheesed off if I had to pay a toll incurred by someone with the same plate number in a different state, just because both states used near-identical license plates and the toll authority couldn't figure out which state it belonged to.

And this is what bothers me about the special plates that many places issue. There should be a unifying theme to them so that it's easy to tell the state/province that it belongs to. I really like that Ontario places a logo on the left side for special plates, with the rest of the plate looking like the standard issue. It makes it easy to tell it's an Ontario plate from a distance.

Maybe it is time to mandate state name being an explicit part of a license plate number rather than a decorative element at the edge?

I have pondered that within the past few years, having 'Euro' style plates where the first two characters are the postal  abbreviation for the state, province or territory in which the vehicle is registered and the seven after that being the number that the jurisdiction would otherwise have issued to the vehicle (ie, [CA-NLLLNNN] or [WI-LLL-NNNN], with perhaps some way to include the country in the number.

Mike

Problem is that most cars sold in US have a US-speced license plate holder. Attaching long euro plate wouldn't work. Two lines on a plate may work, though.

Mexico handles it by having a nationwide pool of serial numbers, and each state being assigned blocks of serial numbers within it.

So, for example, if you spot a pickup truck from Mexico with license plate HX-3455-C, it doesn't matter that the state name is covered up by a frame:  it's from Jalisco.  Or if you see a passenger car with license plate A14-NVD-4, you can be sure it's a Fronteriza plate from Baja California, even if you can't see the state name.

If you want to keep things readable...  NY has room for 8 symbols on a plate, actually uses 7 -  and consumed last 6 symbol of Kaa-NNNN  within ~30 months. I don't think anyone can squeeze 9 symbols in existing layout.
If we want human-readable 2 symbols state code and still maximum of 8 symbols, there is not enough room. Until you are willing too go for some non-memorizable NYLLNNLN  combinations without spaces... and even then larger states may get problems.
Mexico has about 1/3 of US population, and my gut feeling that there are fewer cars per capita. 

[kphoger]

I don't think anyone can squeeze 9 symbols in existing layout.

Challenge accepted!  (using Montana's current issue)



Also, take a look at Nicaragua's current issue.  Same dimensions as US plates, seven digits, with two spaces.

[kalvado]

I don't think anyone can squeeze 9 symbols in existing layout.

Challenge accepted!  (using Montana's current issue)



Also, take a look at Nicaragua's current issue.  Same dimensions as US plates, seven digits, with two spaces.

UGLY!!
As for Nicaragua, that is two half-spaces I would say, font is similar to NY in width.

[kphoger]

As for Nicaragua, that is two half-spaces I would say, font is similar to NY in width.

Yes, I realize.  Easily accommodated by using narrower dies.

[kphoger]

UGLY!!

I thought Comic Sans would give it the push over the edge that it really needed.

[Scott5114]

And this is what bothers me about the special plates that many places issue. There should be a unifying theme to them so that it's easy to tell the state/province that it belongs to. I really like that Ontario places a logo on the left side for special plates, with the rest of the plate looking like the standard issue. It makes it easy to tell it's an Ontario plate from a distance.

Heh, you'd hate Oklahoma. Not only do we have the state plates and all of its special plates, but every First Nations tribe in the state is also allowed to issue license plates. The bigger tribes just contract it out to the state, which gives them a number pool that doesn't conflict with the main state issue (Chickasaw Nation is CN##### for instance) and the plate at least uses the same font as the Oklahoma plate, so it just looks like an Oklahoma special plate. But some tribes handle their own issue. These tribes have their own number pool and plate design, and handle the issuing and fee collection through their tribal government. Some of them even still use embossed plates.

I kind of wonder how many traffic cameras actually recognize some of the more obscure ones, like the the Otoe-Missouria tribal plate (every man, woman, and child in the tribe could have three cars and they'd still have a few plate numbers left over in their 4-numerical-digit scheme for anyone who isn't a man, woman, or child). I have access to Chickasaw and Choctaw-plated vehicles, and those are recognized by OTA just fine, of course, but I'm not sure if that's true in states further afield from Oklahoma, as I've never had the opportunity to test it.

I like the slogan. Since we've done the "Oklahoma is OK" thing before, though, maybe it should just be "Oklahoma: It's not Texas." Leave it to the reader to decide whether that is a good or bad thing.