If you were a kid with an unusual name, you know the sting of not being able to find your name on those racks of novelty bicycle license plates. I suspect whoever is in charge of the E-Z Pass vehicle list must have felt this exclusion, because it's one of the most insanely comprehensive marque lists I've seen. Anywhere.
Usually, when you're pulling down a menu to find the make and model of your car for some website, you get a list of a couple dozen carmakers where the most exotic nameplate on the list is maybe Porsche or something. Drive a Sterling? A Land Rover? A La Forza? An Innocenti? Tough. Now you drive an 'other.'
But the E-Z Pass people, well, they're different. Drive a Berkeley? A Champion? A Battronics? A Peugeot? A Yugo? E-Z Pass has you covered. Some of these are absurdly rare in the US. When was the last time you saw someone in an Allard? A McLaren? Or a Checker? Hell, that Battronics thing is so rare, I had to Google it to see what the hell it was. It seems it was a low-volume electric delivery van built in Pennsylvania. Of course, our pals at Hemmings have a bit of info about it. One of the first things I found was this horrifying crash test:
They made under 200 of these over 20 years. That means, realistically, that entry on the E-Z Pass menu can be referring to what, one or two guys? The two remaining loons in the world driving 25 MPH electric milk vans on toll roads? They get their own menu entry?
There's some puzzles in the list, too. "Unknown" is pretty exciting, especially considering that a Berkeley is a "known" on this list. And "Jet?" Does that refer to a brand or a jet-powered car?
And yet despite all this, they still don't have an entry for Reliant. Is it really more likely that some dude driving a 19whothefuckknows Carpenter will get an E-Z Pass than me in my Scimitar? Maybe.
Really, though, how can I be mad at a company that puts "Tiara" and "Renault" and whatever the hell a "Wayne" is in an American-focused car pull-down menu? I can't is how.
Keep it up, E-Z Pass.
Hat Tip to Gary Gastelu over at Fox Car Report!