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Plates

andy rooney

Andy Rooney Bitches, Moans About State Slogans On License Plates, Being Old

Last night's bitch-fest by Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes' starts with his inability to discern the difference between cars and then as usual, inexplicably moves towards something only quasi-tangentially related. In this case, license plates and state slogans. Although there's no real point he's driving at, it's funny in that "Oh, Grandpa, you're so old" kind of way. Especially when he explains he's unable to figure out what one of the "cars he's seen on the road" is — and up goes a picture of a Fiat Bravo, which, as you well know, is a car not found on U.S. roads. Oh, Grandpa...you're so old. Isn't it about time you retired to the back porch already? [60 Minutes]

accessories

Buy Your Own Authentic European Vanity Tag

A young chap is selling completely authentic European customized license plates. You can get any combination you like pressed into the plate of your country of choice — and even add authentic registration stickers. We'd probably avoid purchasing one if you do actually live in a European country, since it's completely illegal. Even the product description seems a bit shady, involving the store owner "knowing a guy." More »

offbeat news

North Carolina DMV Discovers Internet, Is Not Amused

Acronyms and turns-of-phrase penned for expediency on the World Wide Web are so commonplace now they're practically real words on their own. With usage so ubiquitous, it's hard to believe it took until now for the North Carolina DMV to be alerted to the fact the acronym "WTF" actually meant something — and that something is plastered across up to 10,000 automobiles in the tar heel state. More »

racing news

Lewis Hamilton Buys "LEW 1S" License Plate For $392,000

Doing his best impersonation of a UAE oil sheik, Mercedes-Benz F1 racer Lewis Hamilton has picked up the very vain "LEW 1S" vanity plate for a smooth £200,000, or about $392,000. This, of course, leads us to believe Hamilton is 11 years old and still likes to write his name on desks, in bathroom stalls, and onto tree trunks. Then again, we don't drive F1 cars for a living and get paid $27.8 million a year to do it, so what do we know? Considering Hamilton is living every 11-year-old boy's dream anyway, why not buy ridiculous things with your piles of loot? More importantly, what car is it going on? More »



novelties

Map Of USA Made of States' License Plates

Here's some art which brings up a "why haven't I seen that before" thought. License plates, cut into the shapes of each state, arranged into the shape of the United States. Neat. Is it cool enough to fork over prices starting at $1,895, depends on if you've got spare scratch laying around. Of course if you've got a set of fifty plates, a template of the US (a map comes to mind) and a plasma cutter laying around, you can make your own for probably a lot less. Still a clever idea we wouldn't mind having on the wall of our garage. [License Plate Art]

offbeat news

Delaware License Plate Goes for $675K, All Of Middle East Giggles

Oh, how they must be laughing at us in the United Arab Emirates, where high-rollers bid in the multi-millions for low-digit license plates. Our big counter-news from the land of liberty is that a collector from Delaware just coughed up a measly $675,000 at auction for that state's plate number "6." More »

offbeat news

$14.3M Vanity Plate Shatters Record, Makes Orphan Babies Cry

Remember the guy from the United Arab Emirates that paid $6.8M for a vanity plate? His bid for a plate reading "5" set the world record. But that's kid's stuff. A new record has been set by UAE businessman Saeed Abdul Ghafour Khouri, who made a bid of $14,300,000 for Abu Dhabi license plate "1." If it were our money, we'd go for a fleet of a dozen Bugatti Veyrons and still have some scratch leftover to gold-plate all our drinking straws. However, in the UAE a low number plate is a serious status symbol. Apparently, if you have a number low enough, you've basically got immunity to do whatever you want. Besides, who doesn't want to be No. 1? More »

novelties

Rev Up A Romantic Dinner With Gearhead Place Setting

Roses? Check. Candles? Check. Nice dinner in the oven? Check. Beautiful place setting with automotive theme? Negative. It's a shame you forget the smallest parts of your romantic Valentine's Day dinner, such as the nice plates, glasses and silverware. Help is available, however. Say hello to the gearhead place setting. More »

novelties

Ten Page Gallery of Internet-Themed Vanity Plates

We can't tell which is more sad, the ten pages of vanity plates all referencing some form of geekdom and Internet speak; or the fact that we could interpret almost all of them right away. For reasons unknowable, the Internet License Plate Gallery offers a compendium of the what the world's nerds consider appropriate for their tags and worth the additional cost or registration. If you fall into this variety of the w3bz0r35 133t, you can submit your very own version of automotive-brand girl repellent for all the world to enjoy. Some of our favorites are... More »

offbeat news

Man Buys $6,750,000 Vanity Plate, We Lose Faith In Humanity

You know how when you go to a fast food place and you're standing in line, debating whether you should splurge and get the DeLuxe super meal or if you should just purchase an item off the dollar menu and supplement it with a cup of water, obtained from the bathroom spigot? I think it's safe to assume that Talal Khouri of the United Arab Emirates has never endured that debate. He's the man who owns the world's most expensive license plate, which he paid about $6,750,000 for in an auction run by the oil-rich country's government. So, what kind of solid-platinum, diamond-encrusted opulence did he get for his millions? Well... actually, it's just a regular ol' number tag. Yep, just a normal plate that simply reads "5." More »

novelties

Personalized Plate Slips by North Carolina DMV

Apparently the North Carolina DMV is unfamiliar with the darker corners of the internet because they've let a whopper of a plate slip through the screening process. If you've ever seen what this plate is referring to, may God have mercy on your soul. There are just some things you can't unsee. We're sure the proud new owner of this plate will have a lot of splainin' to do when the first net savvy cop pulls him over for some form of public indecency.

news

"GET OSAMA" Man Wants 9/11 Vanity Plates

The guy from NY that wanted the "GET OSAMA" vanity plates to go along with his American Flag Aerostar minivan has decided to push for a 9/11 vanity plate for New York (surprisingly, one of the states not to have one). The main hold up exists in the fact that the previous governor, Pataki, stopped all vanity license plates in 2006 after the threat of lawsuits over pro-life messages. More »

question of the day

How Do You Feel About Vanity Plates?

A couple of days ago, you let us know just how you feel about bumper stickers. Today we learned that some bloke in Old Blighty shelled out £154,100 for a custom plate. What does this plate say? "CEO 1." Its amazing to us that someone so stupid could become so wealthy. And, that's not even the most anyone has ever paid for a plate. The record is £331,000 for "M1." We don't know about you, but unless you own a Bentley with the plate "RCH PHKR," the only vanity plate worth paying money for is "6ULDV8." Now, let us know about you. More »

news

In God We Trust, In Indiana We Sue

Indiana has all sorts of specialty license plates available at extra cost; you can show you're against stuff (breast cancer, child abuse) or for stuff (the environment). But there's one specialty plate you can get at no extra cost: the one with a snazzy IN GOD WE TRUST logo on it, for which even the normal $15 specialty-plate administrative fee is waived. Whoa, hold on a second there, says construction worker Mark Studler and the Indiana ACLU, who filed suit on the issue last week. Seems there's this pesky separation-of-church-and-state thing in some dusty old piece of paper somewhere in DC, and maybe it even applies to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. More »

novelties

Enter Sandman: The Metallica License Plate Rules!


The LA area spawned the metallic metal band, so we guess it makes sense you'd find this here. Also yes, we'd have to agree — it's probably the most metal license plate we've yet to see out of LA, or any other area for that matter. At least until someone comes up with a MegadetH one. It's just too bad it's on a Passat. Somehow I think when Hetfield was going on about heading off to never-neverland, I don't think he was hoping for it to happen in a VW. More »

news

Call The Feds, We've Got An Older-Model Lincoln: Traffic Stop In Detroit Nets FBI Attention


Normally when a traffic stop in Detroit merits federal involvement, its the Justice Department getting on the City of Detroit 5-0 over potential indiscretions or some kind of attempt at a claim of mis- management. But hey, maybe the City's cleaned up its act after the Super Bowl and All Star Game turned the worlds eye with a laser-like focus on the City — because today, the FBI's getting involved because the Detroit City Police have actually done something positive for a change, pulling over a older-model Lincoln at 3 AM today after he ran a red light on Woodward Avenue south of West Chicago Blvd. Spokespo-po James "no relation to Terry" Tate confirmed the Detroit police had contacted the FBI for assistance after the motorist was found carrying maps and five out-of-state license plates and driver's licenses in his vehicle. Of course, he could have just been a collector of license plates and been carrying ID's for his buddies at the bar — but whatever — Detroit Police, 1. Terrorists, 0. More »