I have never had or wanted a vanity plate, but I certainly enjoy seeing the creative letter and digit choices others have made in the name of having fun, flexing, or otherwise sending a message via their federally mandated stamped sheetmetal.
Well, I enjoy some of them. The others, I react to, as I am just as frequently annoyed by vanity plates as I am entertained by them. Not deeply annoyed, mind you, there are much more important concerns in life. But I will roll my eyes, and perhaps exhale sharply with a dismissive pfffft.
In particular, I’m not a fan of smug plates on electric vehicles – by which I mean Teslas. It’s almost always Teslas. It was once a thing for Priuses (which are hybrids, I know), but I can’t recall the last time I saw a Prius suggesting its driver was somehow better than me via license plate. And to be fair, it seems the Tesla owners around my neck of north-Dallas suburbia have chilled out with LOL GAS, NO OIL, LUV ERTH, and the like. I’m sure they’re still out there, but with every third vehicle being a white Model Y where I am, most of the Tesla plates I see are standard luck-of-the-draw affairs. It’s just a regular car, after all.
Vanity plates on enthusiast cars run hot and cold for me, depending entirely on the message of course. A hot car with a HOT CAR plate is a hat on a hat. But if you’re rolling out in a pricey performance machine and your plate is BROKE or NO401K, respect. And while a chuckle was likely not the intention, I do get a one whenever a plate goes harder than the car itself deserves, for ex:
My favorite vanity plates are the thinkers, the ones that take a sec to register but then reward you with the thrill of getting it. Such as:
Judging by those fender flares, I’m betting there’s an angry-eyes grille up front for eff’s sake.
it’s a McConaughey thing
byu/Austin_Native_2 inLICENSEPLATES
McConaug-HEY, I get it! And it’s a Texas plate, of course. That’s quality license-plate humor.
Your turn: What Are The Best And Worst Vanity Plates You’ve Encountered? See you in the comments!
I remember driving with my wife and we were passed by a blacked out Camaro with the plate “DRK1”, and my wife said “Why would anyone get “dork one” as a vanity plate?”
One I’ve seen that also ventures into NSFW territory, N2 BONDG with the license frame saying ” I’d love to help but I’m all tied up” on an Audi TT convertible. Not sure how they got that one by the DMV.
They’re big fans of nitrogen bonds down at that DMV, obviously
Saw a black RX350 with a TACKY plate. Not even close my guy. More like no imagination.
FL plate “I TITHE”. So much for “Give to those in need, but don’t boast about it”.
Best one I ever saw was apparently not a vanity plate, but one that was just randomly issued. It said L84 ANL. I heard the person who got it demanded to be issued a new plate and the request was approved
I don’t know if that would get you pulled over more or less.
There’s a DeLorean in my area with the plate “FLUXIN”, which I thought was clever.
IAJT YWU
It’s A Jeep Thing You Wouldn’t Understand
also a shoutout to MCM’s 2sexy
We have a lot of them locally. Some people get away with wild things like FTHMKDZ, WOBBLYH, and BLUMKIN, but my favorite is probably ITCHY. It’s special because it’s on the Boise State University specialty plate, which has the B they use in all their branding at the front to make it BITCHY.
“SHT BOX” on a Dodge Challenger in Florida. No idea how it got approved!
It’s FloriDUH!
A British ex-pat friend of mine down here in America’s Wang had “BQLLQX” on his truck for years. Our DMV is full of truly observant folks.
Bollocks
OICU812
My favorite of all time is this one:
https://www.reddit.com/r/HondaElement/comments/188c2pl/what_in_the_name_of_alphabet_tarnation_is_this/
I usually cringe at the plates that some EVs have, but the other day I saw a Chevy Bolt with the license plate “SUP OHMS” and that got a chuckle out of me.
While not really clever so much as a reference, The Homer, my 24 Hours of Lemons racer inspired by Homer Simpson’s dream car that he got to design in an early episode of The Simpsons, has genuine Utah “BORT” license plates. Somehow a friend of mine actually had the real state issued BORT plates on his car in Utah and he was gracious enough to donate them to us. Only the real Simpsons nerds will get this, but those who do seem to really appreciate it.
Awesome that you got the BORT plate. I do have to say that it’s not just for Simpsons nerds, though. My girlfriend has seen like 2 episodes and is always baffled by my references, but she knew BORT and steamed hams. Trying to teach her the rest, but she does not want to watch the show, so it’s slow going.
Ha, and just for fun I Googled “Bort license plate” and this Reddit thread was a result, showing the actual BORT plates on my friend’s M3 before he gave them to us.
https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSimpsons/comments/1c8xy4p/bort_was_taken_what_are_you_putting_on_your/
I hate most of the EV plates too, but I will give EV trucks a pass that have wire nuts dangling in the back.
718-STIG, STIKTRK, PA-STIG
I have a Ford Maverick and got my first Vanity Plate: TRKL3T (trucklet). Was wondering who had the actual TRKLET plate…came to find out that it was my buddy’s wife with a Maverick in the same color. Small world.
Seen in Charlottesville, VA: “OHAYLNO”
I believe there was an old 80’s game show called “Bumper Stumpers” or something close. Contestants would have to guess the meaning of the plates that were showed.
One that has lived in my head for a long time on a 280ZX back in the early 80’s: O2BNAZ
The second was a Tesla in Torch’s neck of the woods a few years ago: COALPWRD
Not a vanity plate, but an aircraft registration number (similar to a license plate, as you can sometimes pick your registration number).
This was on a pretty gaudy Pilatus PC12 NGX that was a black and gray camo with yellow accents. The registration was N69P, which N signifies an US-based aircraft, and that part is sometimes skipped on the readback.
That’s right, 69(er) Papa is the callsign.
I remember reading an article back in the 90s about someone trying to use 3MTA3 and thought it was hilarious.
My rallycross MR2 had DRTYMR2 and my old Scion xB had IH8WIND for a year or two. Then I got tired of paying big $$$ for the same sticker everyone else had.
Ah, yes, 3MTA3 and 55AYMTA3
years ago while living in Maine there was guy in town driving a Suzuki Esteem with the vanity plate “LOWSELF”
Best two I’ve seen:
1) Honda Fit with “LIKAGLV”
2) Smart Car with “HFPINT”
I LOVE that Fit plate.
Half Pint is the name of my 510 wagon. Nicely done Smart Car.
I saw PASNGAS on a Tesla. That made me laugh
I used to work in the home oxygen business. A fellow employee had a plate on his Miata that read “HOME 02”. He enjoyed it until someone asked him “who’s homo 1?”
I usually enjoy seeing vanity plates. Except when it just repeats the model of the car. Why have a plate that says “MY VETTE” or something like that?
I’ll admit to being guilty of that… but I left out the “MY” on another vehicle. Can we still be friends?
I had a coworker with MYTESLA on his Fiat EV. He enjoyed it AND he was doing his part to reduce the occurrences of this.
Ok but that’s funny and ironic and putting TESLA on a Fiat license plate is a very different use.
I’m just confused why someone would put “70 CUDA” on the license plate of a 1970 Cuda. I mean, doesn’t it already say that on the car a few inches away from the license plate?
Yeah, I’m with you on that. It’s like they feel the need to have something on a personalized plate, but can’t come up with something beyond the vehicle they have wanted. I guess it must be something they’ve wanted for so long that it’s part of their identity?
one of the first Virginia ones I saw was on a C3: 3TT3V
My parents have always been fans of vanity plates. Growing up we drove around in a big Dodge van with 4R4KIDS and once came up on a minivan with the plate 4R3KIDS… the cheers from our van were exhilarating!
The best one though would be my Mom’s 1978 Pinto with KABOOM. Here’s some pictures:
File:1978 Ford Pinto hatchback at 2015 Rockville Show 1of5.jpg – Wikimedia Commons