Grex Agora46 Conference

Item 18: license plate observatoins and comments

Entered by tsty on Mon Jun 23 20:25:34 2003:

license plate personalities
261 responses total.
#1 of 261 by orinoco on Mon Jun 23 20:39:26 2003:

Bumpter sticker: MY OTHER VEHICLE IS THE MAHAYANA

("Mahayana" means "big boat" in Sanskrit.  Mahayana Buddhism is distinguished
by the belief that everyone has the capacity to become enlightened.  The
Hinayana (or "little boat") Buddhists believed that only a few lucky people
would every become enlightened.)

#2 of 261 by bruin on Tue Jun 24 02:20:39 2003:

Seen on the rear window of a Dodge pickup:

"If you can't Dodge it, (picture of ram) it"

"Eating Fords, Shitting Chevys"

#3 of 261 by arianna on Tue Jun 24 17:19:27 2003:

on a purple 'stnag yesterday coming out of the parking garage at work:
NEAT-00

#4 of 261 by bru on Tue Jun 24 22:02:41 2003:

TODD5

SHININ

#5 of 261 by shepard on Wed Jun 25 00:09:55 2003:

Yawn

#6 of 261 by krj on Wed Jun 25 03:17:26 2003:

Maine plate:   AVERAGE

#7 of 261 by dcat on Wed Jun 25 06:01:45 2003:

Unremarkable (IOW, I don't recall it) tag number, but on the way home from
TOP tonight I saw a DC "Taxation Without Representation" plate on Broadway

#8 of 261 by gull on Wed Jun 25 13:39:33 2003:

I thought it was pretty amusing when Clinton put those plates on the
Presidential limo, knowing Bush would have to take them off again. 
(Bush opposes representation for D.C.)

#9 of 261 by jmsaul on Wed Jun 25 13:51:15 2003:

That was very funny.

#10 of 261 by orinoco on Wed Jun 25 14:35:38 2003:

Wait... there are D.C. licence plates that say "Taxation Without
Representation"?  These are official plates?

#11 of 261 by jmsaul on Wed Jun 25 14:41:28 2003:

Oh yes.

#12 of 261 by orinoco on Wed Jun 25 14:48:54 2003:

That's beautiful.

#13 of 261 by goose on Wed Jun 25 15:29:54 2003:

Isn't it though?  Especially the presidential limo.....Ground Force One?
Road Force One?  When does GW get a presidential pickup truck?

#14 of 261 by dcat on Wed Jun 25 16:06:51 2003:

resp:10  Used to be.  As I recall, Congress forced the District to stop
making them --- one of those "Do what we say or lose all your funding" things
that prompted the plates in the first place --- but didn't (or couldn't) do
anything about the existing plates, so they're out there, but less common.

Someone from that area may feel free to correct me.  Hell, anyone else can
feel free to correct me, too :)

#15 of 261 by gull on Wed Jun 25 17:25:36 2003:

Re #13: Maybe he could get one of those stretch Hummer limos.

#16 of 261 by tpryan on Fri Jun 27 16:34:09 2003:

        On a black Ford Explorer:  MI BLAKKAT.  probably because
BLACKAT would not parse as quickly.

#17 of 261 by krj on Fri Jun 27 19:19:46 2003:

Michigan plates:
       CATBALU          (presumably refers to the Jane Fonda movie)
       ONEDOWN

#18 of 261 by gelinas on Fri Jun 27 23:17:52 2003:

I saw B4ULEAP again today.  And then TGGR and STORY.

#19 of 261 by abc on Sat Jun 28 00:14:57 2003:

I H8 66 (VA)
seen on I-66

#20 of 261 by russ on Sun Jun 29 19:41:50 2003:

Saw one of those "IF YOU CAN READ THIS, FLIP ME OVER" (upside down)
things on the bumper of a Jeep on Wednesday.  The driver was donning
his cammie jacket while I had him in view.  (In 90 F weather.)

If I get to stop within earshot of someone with that sticker, I
intend to tell them that I can read upside down and when they want
me to stop flipping.

#21 of 261 by scg on Sun Jun 29 20:08:53 2003:

re 14:
        If the DC "Taxation Without Representation" plates have been
discontinued, the DC DMV website doesn't say so:

http://dmv.washingtondc.gov/serv/plates/tax.shtm

#22 of 261 by dcat on Sun Jun 29 20:17:00 2003:

Huh.  I heard wrong, then.

#23 of 261 by dcat on Mon Jun 30 15:18:49 2003:

bumper sticker on one of the trucks delivering beams to the Broadway Bridge
project:
"Your proctologist called.  He found your head."

licence plate, on a jeep parked on 5th north of kerrytown:
ARKANSAS
   26
SENATOR

#24 of 261 by abc on Tue Jul 1 00:18:10 2003:

NENAAH (VA)

#25 of 261 by gelinas on Tue Jul 1 03:54:50 2003:

I saw URGOOD today (Michigan blue plate)

#26 of 261 by lynne on Tue Jul 1 17:56:00 2003:

HISUGAR (MI blue plate in Meijers parking lot)

#27 of 261 by dcat on Tue Jul 1 19:15:24 2003:

VIVI    (MI UMich plate on 5th Av & again in UMCU lot on William)

#28 of 261 by bru on Tue Jul 1 21:30:09 2003:

PANMA R1

#29 of 261 by abc on Wed Jul 2 00:07:15 2003:

ARTCOM (VA)

#30 of 261 by gelinas on Wed Jul 2 00:20:09 2003:

 Block-MOVOVR

#31 of 261 by gull on Wed Jul 2 18:16:58 2003:

SVTGURL on a Ford Focus SVT.

#32 of 261 by dcat on Wed Jul 2 19:17:36 2003:

'SVT' ?  Or does it matter?  (I suspect it doesn't, really)

#33 of 261 by jmsaul on Wed Jul 2 21:30:31 2003:

Ford's Special Vehicle Team.  "SVT" indicates the performance model of a
Ford car, sort of like an "M" on a BMW.  Some of them (the Mustang Cobra
and the F-150 Lightning are SVTs) are very cool, others (the SVT Contour)
aren't as exciting, and the SVT Focus is supposed to be pretty mild.

#34 of 261 by bru on Wed Jul 2 22:54:24 2003:

BONFIRE

VOAKES

LOV2SAIL

#35 of 261 by abc on Thu Jul 3 00:13:35 2003:

RAMBOWH (VA)

#36 of 261 by gelinas on Thu Jul 3 02:45:47 2003:

I like that last one, bru. :)

I saw MZ ANN today.

#37 of 261 by abc on Fri Jul 4 00:10:13 2003:

TURBO 02 (VA)

#38 of 261 by bruin on Fri Jul 4 02:15:25 2003:

Michigan "Bridge" plate LINUS

North Carolina plate P'SNAPOD

#39 of 261 by bru on Sat Jul 5 21:33:15 2003:

ON 

WOLFHAVN  had irish eolfhounds in the back

ON

GO BLUU

#40 of 261 by dcat on Sat Jul 5 22:14:16 2003:

KRONER (Michigan blue plate on a BMW)

#41 of 261 by gelinas on Sun Jul 6 04:15:53 2003:

I saw M0000SH today (or MOOOOSH; can't really tell).

#42 of 261 by jaklumen on Mon Jul 7 00:33:14 2003:

ABBAFL

#43 of 261 by orinoco on Tue Jul 8 00:25:12 2003:

WWWWWWW

#44 of 261 by gelinas on Tue Jul 8 06:03:58 2003:

AF VET

#45 of 261 by bru on Tue Jul 8 13:41:53 2003:

What if the hokey-pokey
is what it is all about?

#46 of 261 by jaklumen on Tue Jul 8 21:59:04 2003:

HOLLIS

#47 of 261 by abc on Wed Jul 9 00:12:03 2003:

ANDI Z (VA)

#48 of 261 by ea on Wed Jul 9 00:16:17 2003:

GO25MPH (MI)

#49 of 261 by russ on Wed Jul 9 02:12:14 2003:

DES1NER

#50 of 261 by dcat on Wed Jul 9 03:27:33 2003:

NETADMN (MI, IIRC).

#51 of 261 by other on Wed Jul 9 14:45:08 2003:

MI:  TYGRRR  (Only saw it in my rearview mirror, though.)

#52 of 261 by gelinas on Wed Jul 9 18:07:32 2003:

I've seen a few today, ending with the Michigan Blue plate: 400 YRS which
_could_ be a standard plate, rather than a personalised plate.

Others included ESTASII, BZ BEE (I've forgotten the one I noted just
before BZ BEE, though), 1SHARKY and PLMBM2.

#53 of 261 by void on Wed Jul 9 20:52:05 2003:

   TODAYSM

#54 of 261 by abc on Thu Jul 10 00:09:09 2003:

KELIVA (VA)

#55 of 261 by dcat on Thu Jul 10 00:16:56 2003:

on the back of a '67 Chrysler w/ the original tag on the front:
        INHALE
a van in the Paesano's parking lot: MOST1  (huh?)
from Cuyahoga Cty, OH:              M KOGZ (huh?)
from Michigan:                      MDYBLUS

#56 of 261 by gelinas on Thu Jul 10 01:00:00 2003:

I like that last, both the plate and the band. :)

#57 of 261 by bru on Thu Jul 10 03:04:55 2003:

GIRLEE

HRYNLIN  (HARRY AND LINN)

#58 of 261 by russ on Thu Jul 10 04:02:01 2003:

1 AKITA

#59 of 261 by gelinas on Thu Jul 10 19:00:35 2003:

I saw MEDIC37 today.  I guess lots of people like being medics.

#60 of 261 by abc on Fri Jul 11 00:21:54 2003:

RTT DID (VA)

#61 of 261 by dcat on Fri Jul 11 01:18:15 2003:

MRROW   (MI Univ. of MI)

#62 of 261 by ea on Fri Jul 11 02:40:34 2003:

TEA LUV (MI) spotted today ... I think it was parked on Washington

#63 of 261 by abc on Sat Jul 12 00:03:05 2003:

1OF-AKND (VA)

#64 of 261 by dcat on Sat Jul 12 04:00:27 2003:

VASCO  (PA)

#65 of 261 by jep on Sat Jul 12 04:56:21 2003:

Michigan plate: KAYAK

This was one odd looking license plate, because the "Y" stood higher 
than it should have.  The bottom of the "Y" on a Michigan plate is too 
high, and it made the whole plate look very strange, like Chinese or 
Aztek characters or something.

#66 of 261 by dcat on Sat Jul 12 22:13:09 2003:

63 MERC (MI)

bumper sticker:  "What Would Xena Do?"  (not on the same car)

#67 of 261 by tpryan on Sun Jul 13 00:43:22 2003:

        SCHLEP , MI Spartan S plate.  On a pickup truck.
'E probably does.

#68 of 261 by other on Sun Jul 13 03:51:02 2003:

MINIAK on a -- you guessed it -- Mini.

MOM2ME   (?)

#69 of 261 by bruin on Mon Jul 14 16:25:29 2003:

Bumper stickers:

1.   "I Brake for Red Lights"

2.   "Driver Carries No Cash - He's Married"

#70 of 261 by flem on Mon Jul 14 16:38:43 2003:

Spotted MI plate ARUBA1 at the Saline Celtic Festival.

#71 of 261 by albaugh on Mon Jul 14 18:07:20 2003:

PAMALA1

#72 of 261 by cmcgee on Mon Jul 14 19:33:46 2003:

On a Ferrari in A2: (Mi blue plate) XTASY

#73 of 261 by abc on Tue Jul 15 00:14:37 2003:

IN2 GOLF (VA)

#74 of 261 by dcat on Tue Jul 15 01:19:49 2003:

KLO WAT (MI)

ZZZZZZZ (MI 'bridge' plate)

#75 of 261 by gelinas on Tue Jul 15 03:07:15 2003:

I saw IAM EH today.

#76 of 261 by bru on Tue Jul 15 13:10:32 2003:

IGOTTMUD

On A Jeep

MUSH

#77 of 261 by remmers on Tue Jul 15 18:58:17 2003:

Michigan plate:  NETMEG

(Those in the know, know whose plate that is...)

#78 of 261 by gelinas on Tue Jul 15 20:02:32 2003:

I saw ON EBAY and LUCKY01 today.

#79 of 261 by bruin on Tue Jul 15 20:10:14 2003:

Michigan "US Flag" plate AARBR

#80 of 261 by abc on Wed Jul 16 00:04:16 2003:

MARSDAD (MD)

#81 of 261 by ea on Wed Jul 16 00:15:05 2003:

BLUEBUG (MI) on a (yup, you guessed it)

SKATE (MI)

#82 of 261 by jep on Wed Jul 16 01:48:05 2003:

Michigan plate REXROOF.

#83 of 261 by bru on Wed Jul 16 13:26:46 2003:

LOVE IZ

#84 of 261 by dcat on Wed Jul 16 15:59:45 2003:

resp:82 - the sysadmin at Washtenaw CC, no?

#85 of 261 by polytarp on Wed Jul 16 17:14:09 2003:

YES!

#86 of 261 by ea on Thu Jul 17 03:24:14 2003:

2 FOR T - OH
ANNARBR - MI
GT FD - OH
GO4 25 - OH (I think)

#87 of 261 by abc on Thu Jul 17 03:28:06 2003:

HD2HNDL (VA)

#88 of 261 by albaugh on Thu Jul 17 22:04:54 2003:

On a van of "Countryside Plumbing":  PLUNGER

On a sports car:  U FEAR

On a Mazda convertible:  VERTIBL

#89 of 261 by abc on Fri Jul 18 00:04:32 2003:

SWD & ME (VA)

#90 of 261 by bru on Fri Jul 18 01:17:19 2003:

SHY-ERL (SHERLY AND EARL)

TROTTR          (trotter as in horses)

TEEG

BURN RN (Burn unit nurse)

BLKJK 1 (Casino employee)

#91 of 261 by abc on Sat Jul 19 00:11:58 2003:

BBCI (DE)

#92 of 261 by bru on Sat Jul 19 01:14:38 2003:

SNUG

CALLEN

#93 of 261 by goose on Sat Jul 19 03:14:02 2003:

I spied on Rex (REXROOF on a black car) while he was pumping gas at the BP(?)
station on the corner of Washtenaw and Golfside.  Someone from another car
at another pump came up and chatted with him.  I might describe this other
person as being of the computerish persuasion....another Grexer perhaps?

#94 of 261 by gelinas on Sat Jul 19 04:05:47 2003:

I saw GHOSTED (which I might have reported before) and NODECAF today.

#95 of 261 by gelinas on Sun Jul 20 01:00:28 2003:

And today I saw Block-MSUH8TR

#96 of 261 by bru on Sun Jul 20 01:26:51 2003:

DTOURS

#97 of 261 by ea on Sun Jul 20 01:28:24 2003:

1 MAJIK (MI)
AMY 83 (IL)
2 FOR T (OH)
WLVREEN (MI)

#98 of 261 by bru on Sun Jul 20 21:24:19 2003:

BILLME  (On a Boxter)


WONDER 2  ( car belonging to Linda Carter) NO! Not that linda carter.

#99 of 261 by gelinas on Sun Jul 20 23:15:39 2003:

*That* Ms. Carter spells her name with a Y: Lynda Carter.

#100 of 261 by scott on Sun Jul 20 23:55:38 2003:

Which, the actress, the Ann Arbor music teacher, or some third L[i|y]nda
Carter?

#101 of 261 by gelinas on Mon Jul 21 01:14:26 2003:

The actress who played Wonder Woman is Lynda Carter.  The Ann Arbor music
teacher (and some-time president of the AAEA) is Linda Carter.  There are
probably others, but those are the only two who come immediately to mind in
this context.

#102 of 261 by dcat on Mon Jul 21 01:57:43 2003:

ANITRA  (MI, in the Plymouth Rd Kroger parking lot)

#103 of 261 by goose on Mon Jul 21 03:14:58 2003:

80SRCKR MI while going down 275 near the airport.  It had lots of 80's Rock
bumberstickers all over the back end.

#104 of 261 by gelinas on Mon Jul 21 03:30:58 2003:

Oh.  Bumper stickers:  "I'm not tailgatin'; I'm draftin'" and, on the same
truck, "I'm not speeding, I'm qualifying!"

#105 of 261 by gull on Mon Jul 21 13:45:27 2003:

"I think, therefore I'm pro-life."  On a car in the Meijer parking lot.
 Some people would find that one a bit contradictory.

#106 of 261 by albaugh on Mon Jul 21 17:10:32 2003:

On a sports car convertible which car buffs will know the year, color, and
make/model from the plate:  89REDC4

#107 of 261 by cmcgee on Mon Jul 21 18:49:17 2003:

WEB HOST (MI blue) on a Spider
SNOBEAR (MI blue)
TGR WDS (MI blue) on a really rusty old car
HAM SAH (MI blue) on a van parked at Fingerle

#108 of 261 by dcat on Mon Jul 21 19:53:47 2003:

LUNA01 (MI) on a teeny little old car of some British make (identifiably so
because of the right-hand side steering wheel)

didn't catch the make  as it was passing the other way up Murfin.  It was
about the size of an old VW Beetle, except narrower.

#109 of 261 by jaklumen on Mon Jul 21 21:21:50 2003:

I really wonder how you'd drive those cars on drive-on-the-right 
streets.

#110 of 261 by jmsaul on Mon Jul 21 21:41:22 2003:

Same way mail carriers drive their cars.  Not as big a deal as it sounds.

#111 of 261 by bru on Mon Jul 21 23:12:24 2003:

ITLLDO

#112 of 261 by ea on Tue Jul 22 01:02:58 2003:

MI plate BLACBOX on a Ford Focus ... said car also had a "Michigan 
Engineering" sticker on it ... for that reason, I'm guessing it might 
have been a Linux user.

#113 of 261 by gull on Wed Jul 23 13:41:37 2003:

Re #109: Driving is easy.  Passing is hard.

#114 of 261 by bruin on Wed Jul 23 13:43:04 2003:

Michigan "Block M" plate BKLYN

Michigan "Bridge" plate KANSAS

#115 of 261 by dcat on Wed Jul 23 16:10:08 2003:

bunch of 'em this morning:
ENGINER MI bridge, i think
RELAXX 4        didn't catch what state.  Not MI, i think.
PURPLE2 MI bridge on a purple PT Cruiser
 GLSA           }
SIMON N } all MI blue & white
SIUKEE          }
[M]A2ADA        MI block-M.  not sure if this one is 'ADA's mother, or
something
                more 'profound' . . .

#116 of 261 by gelinas on Thu Jul 24 03:40:40 2003:

I saw AIRSHOW on a red Jag convertible today.

#117 of 261 by dcat on Thu Jul 24 04:52:48 2003:

ZAIDA Z MI bridge

#118 of 261 by twenex on Thu Jul 24 17:52:44 2003:

"Customized" number plates in th UK are crap. You must have a number, and it
must look more or less like an uncustomised one, which looks something like
this:

N01 HXP

Crummy, eh?

#119 of 261 by dcat on Thu Jul 24 18:02:07 2003:

I was starting to wonder if 'vanity plates' existed elsewhere.  I wouldn't
be surprised if they were pretty much US-only.  I can't remember if I've seen
Canadian vanity plates, and I've only ever seen one or two Mexican plates.

YOICH           MI 'flag' plate
NAOKI           }
CCTUBA          }- MI white/blue
WOUWHO          MI 'bridge'

also saw "ENGINER" again.

#120 of 261 by slynne on Thu Jul 24 18:04:33 2003:

Canada has vanity plates

http://www.canplates.com/vanity.html

#121 of 261 by jep on Thu Jul 24 18:31:10 2003:

Yeah, you don't see many of them, but they do exist.

#122 of 261 by jep on Thu Jul 24 18:32:15 2003:

Bumper sticker:
GOD WAS MY CO-PILOT
BUT WE CRASHED
AND I HAD TO EAT HIM

#123 of 261 by polytarp on Thu Jul 24 18:52:06 2003:

I see lots of Canadian vanity plates.  Maybe there're more in Canada than
there are in the US.

#124 of 261 by lynne on Thu Jul 24 20:05:13 2003:

I was stuck behind a terrible driver with the bumper sticker "I Drive Like
Hell, but Jesus Saves."  The sticker wasn't kidding, either--he made an
illegal right on red in order to cut in front of me, then proceeded to go
15 mph in a 30 zone, while randomly slamming on the brakes.  After several
blocks, I pulled over and parked and walked the rest of the way (not very
far, happily.)

#125 of 261 by gelinas on Thu Jul 24 22:16:10 2003:

I saw MOD POD on a VW Beetle yesterday.

#126 of 261 by dcat on Thu Jul 24 23:16:23 2003:

Saw a bumper sticker the other day, 'Jesus loves you, everyone else thinks
you're an asshole'

#127 of 261 by bruin on Fri Jul 25 00:56:34 2003:

All Canadian provinces and territories except Newfoundland/Labrador and 
Quebec have vanity plates, as do most Australian states, New Zealand, 
Denmark, Iceland, Slovenia, Estonia, and Hungary.  There may be more 
countries that allow such plates, though.

#128 of 261 by dcat on Sun Jul 27 01:48:39 2003:

72spydr (MI)

#129 of 261 by alexdw on Mon Jul 28 13:03:42 2003:

I saw a plate while driving on I-69 in Indiana that read:
  I69 TNT
I tried to get my wife to read it, but I counldn't accelerate fast enough.
I got to about 90MPH, but he was pulling away...

#130 of 261 by cmcgee on Mon Jul 28 14:25:41 2003:

FIG JAM  (MI bridge)

#131 of 261 by bru on Mon Jul 28 23:15:09 2003:

KPDREMN

#132 of 261 by dcat on Mon Jul 28 23:18:51 2003:

saw an Ohio plate DEUT and what i took to be chapter and verse references,
but i don't remember the numbers anymore.

#133 of 261 by jaklumen on Tue Jul 29 01:46:07 2003:

WUTEVER (WA)

#134 of 261 by tpryan on Tue Jul 29 02:26:31 2003:

        MI blue:  BROOM

#135 of 261 by bru on Tue Jul 29 02:57:32 2003:

CSCHICK

said she was a computer programer

#136 of 261 by gelinas on Tue Jul 29 05:26:59 2003:

I saw MI Blue plate EVL ONE today.  Later, I saw IAMTEXAN, but I didn't
recognise the state of issue.

#137 of 261 by albaugh on Tue Jul 29 16:43:41 2003:

And why, pray tell, don't the Quebecers have / allow vanity plates?

#138 of 261 by albaugh on Tue Jul 29 16:44:24 2003:

   13R385
REPOSSESSION
   PLATE

#139 of 261 by goose on Tue Jul 29 20:52:58 2003:

MI - PETOSKE

#140 of 261 by bru on Thu Jul 31 21:14:53 2003:

Bright yellow Cavalier with red righting on it

BADCHICK

#141 of 261 by polytarp on Thu Jul 31 21:25:52 2003:

Wrong item.

#142 of 261 by mynxcat on Thu Jul 31 21:44:58 2003:

Re 140> That's "writing"

#143 of 261 by polytarp on Thu Jul 31 22:17:52 2003:

Write.

#144 of 261 by russ on Fri Aug 1 04:07:23 2003:

Spied Thursday:  IM2DV2.  Can't quite make that meaningful.

#145 of 261 by gelinas on Fri Aug 1 04:09:58 2003:

I feel that away about the Michigan blue plate 243READ, which I spotted this
afternoon.

#146 of 261 by dcat on Fri Aug 1 15:03:37 2003:

Bible plate sighting number 2, also out of state:
EPHN 2 8        (VA)

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own
doing, it is the gift of God."

#147 of 261 by albaugh on Fri Aug 1 17:15:11 2003:

Guess which kind of car this was seen on:  BUGSTER

#148 of 261 by polytarp on Fri Aug 1 17:20:46 2003:

Don't tell me what to do, you fascist.

#149 of 261 by cmcgee on Sat Aug 2 11:55:52 2003:

on a blue minivan RUSHED

#150 of 261 by gelinas on Sat Aug 2 22:52:19 2003:

On a Subaru SUV: SCUBARU

Later, CIRKUT2 and ACK ACK, both MI Blue plates, on separate cars.

#151 of 261 by bru on Sun Aug 3 02:08:55 2003:

IR SCAN

        Its what he does for a living

BRANTLEY

        Thats his name

JST TZN

        Just Teazin

#152 of 261 by dcat on Sun Aug 3 17:41:12 2003:

QUIZZY          MI blue
KID 2           MI blue CYCLE
NOPETRO MI blue, on a NGV Honda
MEXIKEN MI blue
RBORLAW MI bridge

#153 of 261 by bru on Mon Aug 4 01:18:56 2003:

MCINDY

#154 of 261 by albaugh on Mon Aug 4 21:28:57 2003:

SNAX

ITS GRD  (it's something...)

#155 of 261 by bru on Mon Aug 4 23:03:32 2003:

MAMAC1

JONNY G

WEB AIT

#156 of 261 by albaugh on Wed Aug 6 16:28:36 2003:

On what I assume was a Chevy Cavalier, heavily customized, including an
outrageous spoiler that looked like the horns of some animal:  1LOWCAV

#157 of 261 by tpryan on Thu Aug 7 00:49:55 2003:

MI blue GRTNANA on a gold Dream Cruiser edition PT Cruiser.

#158 of 261 by bru on Thu Aug 7 01:32:06 2003:

DEANERC

#159 of 261 by dcat on Thu Aug 7 04:57:26 2003:

PT N ME, on a PT Cruiser

Maybe it's just me, but PT Cruisers seem to be disproportionately likely to
have a custom licence plate, compared to other makes & models.

#160 of 261 by gelinas on Thu Aug 7 04:59:30 2003:

Could be.  Could just be that their plates are more likely to be
self-referential.  But I did see M1ATA on a Mazda convertible two-seater
today.

#161 of 261 by jaklumen on Thu Aug 7 05:04:31 2003:

resp:156 drift: so often, spoilers have got to be the gaudiest 
accessory I have seen on cars.  More often than not, they look 
unbelievably stupid.  Next, I think, are some custom wheels, 
especially some that look like wagon spokes and make the tires rubber-
band thin.

#162 of 261 by dcat on Thu Aug 7 05:08:25 2003:

Racing stripes and spoilers on cars with four-cyl. engines.  I've seen them
on both Honda Civics and Dodge Neons, although the Neons seem more common (or
maybe I just see the same couple more often).

#163 of 261 by jmsaul on Thu Aug 7 12:17:25 2003:

A lot of spoilers out there don't do anything aerodynamically, either.

#164 of 261 by slynne on Thu Aug 7 15:45:50 2003:

Sometimes they make a car look more interesting but more often, they 
just look stupid. *shrug*

#165 of 261 by albaugh on Thu Aug 7 21:06:02 2003:

On a maroon-/wine-colored PT Cruiser:  DIVA PT

#166 of 261 by albaugh on Thu Aug 7 21:06:26 2003:

A plate Bush detractors would probably like to see:  WMD 000

#167 of 261 by bruin on Fri Aug 8 01:43:49 2003:

Virginia "400th Anniversary" plate MOUN-10.

#168 of 261 by albaugh on Fri Aug 8 17:16:18 2003:

On a black Lexus:  SNOOTY

#169 of 261 by gelinas on Fri Aug 8 17:26:18 2003:

Reminds me:  On the front a red Jag:  She Won  (the back plate was SHEWON2)

#170 of 261 by jep on Fri Aug 8 18:07:33 2003:

Michigan plate: SCSI DR 

It seems to me at least 1/3 of the new VW Beetles I've seen have 
personalized plates; many more than PT Cruisers.

Most new cars look so much alike that a spoiler is probably required 
for a lot of people.  There're the Ford Focus/Honda Accord/Pontiac Vibe 
cars, the Pontiac Lemans/Ford Taurus cars, then pickup trucks, 
minivans, and SUVs.  There's not a lot of variety in body styles of 
cars being sold these days, leading to crimes like the Pontiac Aztek 
(which is not quite a minivan; it's a slight variant on the PT Cruiser, 
seems to me)

#171 of 261 by bru on Sat Aug 9 00:57:39 2003:

YUICHI

#172 of 261 by jep on Mon Aug 11 03:24:22 2003:

re resp:163: What *is* the aerodynamic function of a spoiler?

#173 of 261 by gelinas on Mon Aug 11 03:30:24 2003:

It is _supposed_ to force the car down onto its wheels, improving traction.
This is especially useful on a rear-wheel drive car whose engine is in the
front.

#174 of 261 by scott on Mon Aug 11 12:11:51 2003:

Don't forget the "only works at high speeds" disclaimer, Joe.  On your average
shmoe car it's not going to do much at all, at least in an engineering sense.

#175 of 261 by gelinas on Mon Aug 11 12:21:31 2003:

Right; the original comment noted that they don't work, so the question
I was answering was, "What do they do [when they do work]?"

#176 of 261 by goose on Mon Aug 11 20:52:27 2003:

Here's a long list collected over the last week or so:

SUNDNCE
LP CPA
HUNTR
SKYWARD
2QUAHOG (?)
MELLOWW (on a yellow C5 Corvette)
SUNNSKI
SHANTI1
MORENA1
ARKTEKT (an architecht that visited our office)
HARDLUK
HNDARON (on an RV hauling a big trailer with Honda motorcycles in it)
STAZ (OH plate)
VET1976 (a '76 'vette)
SOAR HI
ILUVDEB
PRCP
GABB
FLGATRS
DA 1 RESA (OH)
DSNEY19 (IL)
KWIC 1 (IL)
MAGICK (ON)
B26BMBR (there was a B-26 a thte airshow this weekend, the pilot perhaps?)
FONDUE
AIRSHOW
CPU WZD (on a Honda Insight)
YALE 71

Whew.....all plate from MI unless noted.

#177 of 261 by gelinas on Mon Aug 11 21:02:22 2003:

I saw BNICE yesterday.

#178 of 261 by dcat on Mon Aug 11 22:01:44 2003:

BUGBOMB a "new beetle" sporting a spoiler & racing stripe
FINZ UP
BUMBLBE a bright yellow Porsche
BKMNIAC
PRNTCPY
MARUTHI
BLUDVIL
STOPHER
SPYDHER

all MI.

#179 of 261 by jaklumen on Tue Aug 12 00:40:09 2003:

resp:174 Supposedly then, isn't that why the Turbo Beetles deployed 
the spoiler at a certain speed (100 MPH?)

#180 of 261 by bru on Tue Aug 12 01:11:50 2003:

Lighthouse plate COVE
        owner lives at lighthouse cove

2 XCELL

DOGLOVER

#181 of 261 by jmsaul on Tue Aug 12 02:34:19 2003:

Re #175:  If you're talking about my comment, what I meant by it is that many
          of these spoilers won't work at any speed -- they're aerodynamically
          neutral, so they can't produce downforce.

#182 of 261 by albaugh on Tue Aug 12 17:06:59 2003:

R W K 1

On Mr. Balboa's sports car in "Rocky 3":  SOTHPAW  (Pennsylvania plate)

Virginia plate on vehicle driven by a man at the time:  DEMF

BS on van of some business:

Drive has no money.
He's married.

#183 of 261 by gull on Tue Aug 12 20:10:53 2003:

Re #146: I always thought 2 Kings 9:20 would be good, but there's no way
to fit that on a plate.  Maybe a bumper sticker? ;>

Re #173, 179: I think sometimes they're just meant to separate the
airflow to eliminate lift, too.  An example would be the little spoiler
tab they added to the trunks of Audi TT's after they started having
spin-out wrecks on the Autobahn.  The car is basically airfoil shaped
and was generating enough lift at high speeds to break traction.  The
New Beetle Turbo's spoiler is probably of this type.  People who souped
up old Beetles found the rear end would start to come unstuck above 90
mph or so, I've heard, so it doesn't suprise me that the New Beetle
needed some airflow tuning.

Re #176: "2QUAHOG"  Maybe a Family Guy reference?  It was set in Quahog,
Rhode Island.

#184 of 261 by russ on Wed Aug 13 02:13:30 2003:

Various, all Michigan AFAICR:

FORBINS (on an old VW bus)
BLUSTO
MUNEDOG
KASH  (seen right next to the above)
Z9M9Z (can't figure that one out)

Re spoilers, the Mitsubishi 3000GT had a retractable spoiler
which popped up at speeds over something like 40 MPH, if you
selected that setting (it was controllable by dashboard switch).

I've seen some econo-GT cars with serious-looking spoiler wings
set way up high on struts over the trunk lid.  Those would appear
to be at ieast potentially effective, if the speed got high enough.
Holding down the back end would improve traction there and help
keep the car going in a straight line, which is probably a good
idea at the speeds you'd have to go for the spoiler to work well.
Most of the time I bet they just slash a few MPG off the highway
mileage.

The little molded plastic pieces on trunk lids are just jokes.

#185 of 261 by gelinas on Wed Aug 13 02:20:03 2003:

The last above is a palindrome, but I can't pronounce it.

I saw LITE FT this evening.

#186 of 261 by dcat on Wed Aug 13 19:18:21 2003:

KUANG
JLKMNS

both MI

#187 of 261 by gelinas on Wed Aug 13 19:23:19 2003:

Michigan Bridge plate: VA GIRL

I also saw U MICH, but I didn't see who issued it.

#188 of 261 by tpryan on Thu Aug 14 17:44:48 2003:

LUVUGOD on a PT Cruiser

#189 of 261 by ea on Sat Aug 16 14:55:10 2003:

Ontario plates
D GEESE
BURP

#190 of 261 by polytarp on Sat Aug 16 15:47:43 2003:

I'm in Ontario.

#191 of 261 by bruin on Sat Aug 16 20:33:16 2003:

BTW, just got word that Ohio, our neighbor to the south, is phasing in the
new license plate technology where the registration number is laser printed
onto a flat surface.  This should only affect new personalized plates and
special issues for the time being, and only for new registrations.

#192 of 261 by albaugh on Sat Aug 16 22:18:37 2003:

Ohio plate:  P8RIOT 1

#193 of 261 by gull on Sun Aug 17 00:46:41 2003:

I've seen plates from other states like that, I think.  The most 
noticable thing about them is that the letters aren't raised, like a 
stamped plate.

#194 of 261 by russ on Sun Aug 17 04:58:01 2003:

Two more I forgot:

CMUJD   (I knew they were juvenile deliquents in Mount Pleasant)
NOW IR1

#195 of 261 by goose on Sun Aug 17 13:39:54 2003:

I'm living proof Russ.....;-)

#196 of 261 by remmers on Mon Aug 18 16:36:15 2003:

Michigan plate:  RDBARON  (on a Chrysler Le Baron)

#197 of 261 by albaugh on Mon Aug 18 18:58:18 2003:

Illinois plates seen on westbound Ohio turnpike:

ESYNC
SAM JAKE

Bicentennial Ohio plate seen in MI:  L BEAN
The licence plate frame had a purple neon light that slowly "filled in" from
the top around, and then shut off and repeated.

College football commercial on ESPN shows Michigan fan putting MICHIGAN #1
bumper sticker on back of car of nieghbor the Ohio State fan.

#198 of 261 by bruin on Tue Aug 19 01:00:23 2003:

r
Michigan "Block M" plate AXIMA on a Nissan Maxima.

Michigan "Bridge" plate LAMUJER

#199 of 261 by gelinas on Tue Aug 19 03:52:57 2003:

We saw the Michigan plate SAMHAIN today.

#200 of 261 by gelinas on Tue Aug 19 06:44:13 2003:

We also saw the Michigan plate GASNJOE today (well, yesterday, now).

#201 of 261 by albaugh on Tue Aug 19 21:56:26 2003:

Plate on station wagon with big "Aussie in the Kitchen" sticker in back
window:  CHEF OZ

#202 of 261 by goose on Wed Aug 20 01:41:52 2003:

IHVADRM on a Mercedes Benz in East Lansing

#203 of 261 by scg on Sun Aug 24 05:58:24 2003:

California plate "DIE4OIL" in (where else?) Berkeley.

#204 of 261 by bruin on Sun Aug 24 15:42:18 2003:

Michigan "Blue" plate KIKIDEE

#205 of 261 by gelinas on Sun Aug 24 23:26:35 2003:

Michigan 'Bridge' plate MATHREV and Michigan Blue plate "BUMBLBE" on a yellow
Porsche Carrera

#206 of 261 by albaugh on Mon Aug 25 18:48:19 2003:

On a pickup, iIrc:  SHADOW

#207 of 261 by albaugh on Mon Aug 25 22:20:07 2003:

A batch from the commute home:

BGRTFUL     (BGR8FUL might have been a little better ;-)
YESLIFE
ANDREA1
7AM ZOO     (perhaps a parent?)
ZARAHI
TOYZ1

#208 of 261 by gelinas on Tue Aug 26 00:35:23 2003:

I saw DELTA U on pickup truck today.

#209 of 261 by scott on Tue Aug 26 01:43:08 2003:

Seen in on my street:  SOULMT8S

#210 of 261 by anderyn on Tue Aug 26 15:51:19 2003:

MATHREV is my executive editor's car,  thus I see it every morning and
evening.

#211 of 261 by albaugh on Tue Aug 26 16:19:02 2003:

FAT BOY

#212 of 261 by goose on Tue Aug 26 18:17:28 2003:

1STSON - OH
TLIZZLE
KASS 03
DC1TEN
TEE CEE
US OPEL (on a Saturn, not an Opel)
ISEAU2
QUILT2
[S]HUNTER (a Michigan State plate)
MISTR G - FL
OMEGA27
SPA 2
K C K C (with the spaces like that)
QUARK
RAY3
BEULAH1
MAINMAN

whew...

#213 of 261 by gelinas on Wed Aug 27 02:38:44 2003:

I saw STARSKI today.  I suspect he has a rabbit.

#214 of 261 by mcnally on Wed Aug 27 04:29:47 2003:

  Or at least something in which to house a rabbit..

#215 of 261 by tpryan on Wed Aug 27 05:55:47 2003:

O MISS on a white car, driven by a guy.

#216 of 261 by gull on Wed Aug 27 12:51:18 2003:

BLUMINI on a blue Mini Cooper S.

#217 of 261 by drew on Wed Aug 27 18:56:10 2003:

Re #213:
    You couldn't tell for sure the car was a VW Rabbit?

#218 of 261 by gelinas on Wed Aug 27 21:22:46 2003:

'Twas an SUV of some time, not a VW.

#219 of 261 by albaugh on Fri Aug 29 00:59:46 2003:

TMPTRSS     (I'm afraid she wasn't too tempting)
SW RYTR     (on a Nissan sports car out of Dearborn)

#220 of 261 by jep on Fri Aug 29 02:48:46 2003:

Michigan plate HAMJUDO.

#221 of 261 by goose on Fri Aug 29 03:19:08 2003:

That's Paul Hass I believe.  I think I remember him from SEMISLUG meetings
ages ago.

#222 of 261 by jep on Sat Aug 30 03:13:49 2003:

Yep, I'm sure it's Paul.  I don't think I ever met him but he's pretty 
well known in these parts.

#223 of 261 by jmsaul on Sat Aug 30 05:58:24 2003:

I've met him.  Paul Haas was the first guy to put his hot tub on the Internet
(What a thing to be known for).

#224 of 261 by mcnally on Sat Aug 30 06:53:00 2003:

  But if you think about it, it's not at all as odd as being the *second*
  person to put their hot tub on the Internet..

#225 of 261 by jmsaul on Sat Aug 30 13:59:12 2003:

You've got a point there.

#226 of 261 by bru on Tue Sep 2 19:44:31 2003:

VERB8M

YODAVAN  starwars fan or someone who wanted his van to feel good about itself.

#227 of 261 by gelinas on Wed Sep 3 02:38:38 2003:

I saw 36DBLDZ  today.

#228 of 261 by micklpkl on Wed Sep 3 14:06:07 2003:

I saw RHIANON (spelled just like that) on a Mustang with a "Stevie 
Nicks Rocks" bumpersticker.

#229 of 261 by albaugh on Wed Sep 3 20:38:15 2003:

On a white sports car with a spoiler:  ZIPNBYU

#230 of 261 by gelinas on Wed Sep 3 21:04:41 2003:

MSU5AKA

#231 of 261 by tod on Wed Sep 3 21:15:14 2003:

This response has been erased.


#232 of 261 by gelinas on Thu Sep 4 02:40:05 2003:

I saw Block-MILLE today.

#233 of 261 by tpryan on Thu Sep 4 19:04:58 2003:

        TREE B on a green Mercury Mountainer.

#234 of 261 by furs on Thu Sep 4 19:39:06 2003:

MTN MINI on a green Mini Cooper with a CO liscense plate.

#235 of 261 by gelinas on Thu Sep 4 23:31:10 2003:

In the "If you got it, flaunt it" category, we have the Michigan Blue plate

        H1BVISA

#236 of 261 by jaklumen on Fri Sep 5 05:12:14 2003:

I need to write down what I see, because I can't remember the plates.

#237 of 261 by mynxcat on Fri Sep 5 15:34:08 2003:

Resp 235 - Indian, Chinese or other? We should see plates like "GCHOLDER" or
"USCITIZEN"

#238 of 261 by gelinas on Fri Sep 5 16:19:07 2003:

The car was parked, so I didn't see the driver.

#239 of 261 by furs on Fri Sep 5 17:58:53 2003:

I find it highly odd that someone would want to flaunt that.

#240 of 261 by tod on Fri Sep 5 18:25:05 2003:

This response has been erased.


#241 of 261 by ea on Sat Sep 6 15:48:21 2003:

NY Plate SMB MNT (given where it was parked, and that they also had a 
Linux Penguin sticker on the car, fairly safe to assume that the person 
is an avid computer user)

#242 of 261 by drew on Sat Sep 6 20:44:19 2003:

DAH BUS on a white van in the Farmington Hills. Wouldn't by chance be
polytarp, would it?

#243 of 261 by dah on Sat Sep 6 20:49:57 2003:

Certainly not.

#244 of 261 by gelinas on Sun Sep 7 04:54:55 2003:

I saw BUSSED on a Vanagon today.

#245 of 261 by tod on Sun Sep 7 15:04:19 2003:

This response has been erased.


#246 of 261 by mynxcat on Mon Sep 8 15:00:38 2003:

In the "if you have it, flaunt it" category "ROSA PHD"

#247 of 261 by albaugh on Mon Sep 8 17:15:07 2003:

On a sporty red Mercedes (Kompresser, I believe):  SPOILDD
From the looks of it, it was driven by a HS girl with 3 of her girl friends.
Thus I believe the vanity plate was exactly appropriate.

#248 of 261 by gull on Mon Sep 8 17:31:29 2003:

On a Suzuki Swift: RISBRNR

#249 of 261 by lynne on Mon Sep 8 17:35:22 2003:

AHHU4EA (ahh, euphoria)
GIRLS RL
...and lots of others that I can't remember.

#250 of 261 by goose on Mon Sep 8 17:37:14 2003:

UCLAGYM  On a MI plate witha UCLA sticker in the back window.

#251 of 261 by gelinas on Mon Sep 8 19:33:56 2003:

I saw PRAYN48, an Ohio plate, yesterday.

#252 of 261 by albaugh on Tue Sep 9 17:01:16 2003:

Either a purveyor of volleyball or went to U-Tennessee:  VOLFAN2

#253 of 261 by gull on Fri Sep 12 14:26:14 2003:

Bumper sticker on a blue Volvo station wagon:

QUESTION AUTHORITY
 Ask me anything

#254 of 261 by tpryan on Fri Sep 12 20:05:50 2003:

        I came across Yoda's Van YODAVAN, a green minivan (also).

#255 of 261 by gelinas on Sat Sep 13 03:22:31 2003:

On a Ford mini-SUV: MOMSGR8

On a red Corvette:  LOV2DRV

Michigan Blue Plate:  PRWDTXN

#256 of 261 by scg on Sun Sep 14 02:49:52 2003:

SHAY NEW

Misspelled French?

#257 of 261 by gelinas on Sun Sep 14 02:56:53 2003:

I saw ND JAG, an Ohio plate on, of course, a Jag.  I got much closer to it
than any of us wanted, and so learned that the driver was a Notre Dame fan,
on his home from the game.

#258 of 261 by russ on Tue Sep 16 01:09:06 2003:

DBLPMPR, on a Mustang GT.

#259 of 261 by albaugh on Thu Sep 18 23:22:30 2003:

On a pickup:  MEDCHEM

On a classic jalopy / bomb:  30COUPE

#260 of 261 by cmcgee on Thu Sep 18 23:55:15 2003:

MI bridge plate:  1100101

#261 of 261 by russ on Sat Sep 20 22:18:22 2003:

ILYAD on a Jeep.

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