Let's Talk About This Year's New Michigan License Plates

**Detroitnerd** · October-04-13, 10:39 AM

That Mighty Mac plate looks like it was a BMP file drawn in MS Paint. Can't we do better than that?

Give me the old "black tags" any day.

**Zacha341** · October-04-13, 11:18 AM

Hah! The orange sky sorta suggests "Smell our DIRTY AIR!"....

Originally Posted by Gistok

Sigh... I don't know why we can't have a catchy motto... like the [[rejected) one for Wisconsin... "Smell our Dairy Air!"...

**cman710** · October-04-13, 12:00 PM

Virginia allows vanity plates for only $10, so they are very common. However, to make additional money, Virginia also allows college-affinity plates. While I think it makes perfect sense to offer UVA plates, UVA plates, or plates for other universities in the state, they also offer them for major universities in other states, including Ohio State and others. Hopefully, Michigan will never do that!

**ever_helpful** · October-04-13, 12:45 PM

Just a matter of time...
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**Honky Tonk** · October-04-13, 12:55 PM

Originally Posted by ever_helpful

Just a matter of time...
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Good call, and probably on point.

**poobert** · October-04-13, 05:53 PM

BARF. Slap a crown on it and it's Ontario. How much did we pay for that?

So I live in Pure Michigan now? I live in a slogan? What is going on here?

Isn't the whole "Pure Michigan" thing getting a little tired, anyway? Wendy's doesn't still use "Where's the Beef?" anymore, and it seems like they came out around the same time.

**canuck** · October-04-13, 06:35 PM

Originally Posted by poobert

BARF. Slap a crown on it and it's Ontario. How much did we pay for that?

So I live in Pure Michigan now? I live in a slogan? What is going on here?

Isn't the whole "Pure Michigan" thing getting a little tired, anyway? Wendy's doesn't still use "Where's the Beef?" anymore, and it seems like they came out around the same time.

It's a good thing they didnt trade slogans for something like "Pure Wendy" and "Where's Michigan" eh?

**Cincinnati_Kid** · October-04-13, 07:21 PM

Originally Posted by poobert

BARF. Slap a crown on it and it's Ontario. How much did we pay for that?

So I live in Pure Michigan now? I live in a slogan? What is going on here?

Isn't the whole "Pure Michigan" thing getting a little tired, anyway? Wendy's doesn't still use "Where's the Beef?" anymore, and it seems like they came out around the same time.

You can thank your "nerdy" Governor for that. He's been pushing that slogan ever since he's been in office.

**yaktown** · October-04-13, 08:23 PM

I saw the new bridge plates [[$5 extra of course) about a week ago and it made my head hurt. It reminds me of those colorized state quarters you see advertised in Parade magazine. I don't mind the white one with the blue wave at the bottom but I really miss the white-on-blue. and the 1979 plates were the best, white-on-black. Perfection! Let's just be thankful they don't use the flat-plate technology where the ABC-123 is laser printed on to the plate rather than being embossed.

**oladub** · October-04-13, 09:01 PM

Originally Posted by Ray1936

Got'um all in my Nevada home from 1910 to date. Here's 1910 to 2000. The latest 13 years are on another wall in the garage; ran out of room. I'm able to keep up to date thanks to Ebay.

Nice collection Ray. Did you special order all the 777 and 7777s?

I like the black backgrounds with white letters although the letters could be 1/2" taller. Not being acquainted with "Pure Michigan" tourist ads, the word 'pure' is mildly negative to me. "Great Lakes " works as it can be taken a couple of different ways.

**Ray1936** · October-04-13, 09:14 PM

Originally Posted by oladub

Nice collection Ray. Did you special order all the 777 and 7777s?

Well, dear old Mom [[long gone) was the office manager of the East Dearborn AAA office, and she managed to take care of my request every year in that time period.

**poobert** · October-05-13, 08:34 AM

Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid

You can thank your "nerdy" Governor for that. He's been pushing that slogan ever since he's been in office.

Fortunately I know he's a huge, useless ......... so I won't be thanking him for anything. Ever.

**Cincinnati_Kid** · October-05-13, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by poobert

Fortunately I know he's a huge, useless ......... so I won't be thanking him for anything. Ever.

Same here....

**detlump** · October-05-13, 04:00 PM

If you think Michigan has a lot of plates, check out the Florida or Texas DMV sites. There are easily 50 or 100 plates! Texas has one for Dr. Pepper and hamburgers! They also have at least one or two for high schools because they are so large I guess. Both have plates for all pro teams and tons of colleges, critters, and causes!

When I saw the new orange plate I thought it was a NM or Utah plate.

Personally I like the old white on blue or black plates. No reason they couldn't be reflective. Supposedly the old plates used glass pieces to make the letters reflective was why they were discontinued. I could be wrong though.

I think Michigan is missing out on some revenue by not offering plates for the pro teams. That money could go into an arena fund maybe.

Why not have a design-your-own plate? Upload it and 4-6 weeks later it comes in the mail!

**The Nerd** · October-07-13, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by nativegirl

The Nerd,
Right on! I even have my ol' Blue in the garage, hanging on a nail like a portrait. BTW, you ain't Snyder? ie The Nerd moniker

I was "The Nerd" long before Snyder came onto the political scene.

Originally Posted by ever_helpful

Just a matter of time...

Don't laugh. Although our southern neighbor has largely abandoned stamped plates too, it has reserved a very special plate for people with DUI convictions and restricted driving privileges. Known jokingly as "party plates" they ensure that police officers follow and scan the yellow-and-red licence plates - they're literally DUI scarlet letters. Ohio has no plate anywhere similar, so everyone knows that a person driving a car with such plates is a drunk. The state has even thought about creating one for convicted sex offenders. Michigan has nothing like this.

**ccal** · October-07-13, 01:54 PM

Will these new plates help or hurt if one needed to get a plate number from a vehicle that's involved in a crime?

**Popcanman55** · October-07-13, 03:22 PM

has anybody noticed it is extremely hard to read the white letters and numbers on the new bridge plate at night when lit up by headlights. I am surprised MSP and other PD's are not complaining about them yet

**ever_helpful** · October-07-13, 05:05 PM

Originally Posted by The Nerd

Don't laugh. Although our southern neighbor has largely abandoned stamped plates too, it has reserved a very special plate for people with DUI convictions and restricted driving privileges.

Interesting. It'd sure make the job easier for this guy:
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**Scottathew** · October-08-13, 07:15 AM

I hate the new license plates. The main reason I don't like them is because you can barely read "Michigan". I don't like the word "Pure" being on there, I don't like the fancy "M", and the letters are smaller and not as thick.

I don't mind the rest of the design, although I'm not in love with them, but making the word "Michigan" rather unreadable is unforgivable.

I wrote Ruth Johnson about this subject, but received no reply to my constructive criticism.

**noise** · October-08-13, 07:37 AM

Originally Posted by poobert

So I live in Pure Michigan now? I live in a slogan? What is going on here?

No and they don't imply that you do.

**canuck** · October-08-13, 07:45 AM

Originally Posted by 48307

I hate the new license plates. The main reason I don't like them is because you can barely read "Michigan". I don't like the word "Pure" being on there, I don't like the fancy "M", and the letters are smaller and not as thick.

I don't mind the rest of the design, although I'm not in love with them, but making the word "Michigan" rather unreadable is unforgivable.

I wrote Ruth Johnson about this subject, but received no reply to my constructive criticism.

Manitoba's license plates are totally illegible. There's this tiny Manitoba at the top of the plate that means; "if you can't read it, it's a Manitoba plate".

I can't fathom that these state and provincial departments can approve that kind of thing with over a century's experience in designing them.

**Ray1936** · October-08-13, 11:25 AM

To compound many 'barely readable' license plates here and there, dealers love to put their advertising frames around the tin blocking even more of the plate. And dumb drivers, of course, leave them on.

If a dealer wants his frame on my car, he'll have to pay me fifty bucks a month to advertise his franchise. Otherwise it goes in the trash.

**downtownguy** · October-08-13, 12:21 PM

Originally Posted by Popcanman55

has anybody noticed it is extremely hard to read the white letters and numbers on the new bridge plate at night when lit up by headlights. I am surprised MSP and other PD's are not complaining about them yet

I noticed one yesterday in the gas station. I was about 30 feet away -- in broad daylight -- and still couldn't make out the digits.

**mallory** · October-10-13, 07:52 AM

You should be here in Florida. Between regular car plates, state vehicle plates and motorcycle plates, we have 100 different license plate designs. My favorite is the John Lennon plate. What it has to do with Florida though, I have no idea.

**courtney** · October-10-13, 11:36 AM

The new plates are atrocious. I wonder how much money is wasted coming up with these new designs? It seems like it would be more cost effective to keep the standard ones for more than a couple of years.

South Carolina currently has 165 different plates. Among my "favorites" are the fake EMS plate [[open to anyone willing to pay the fee, vs the "real" one for EMTs), the "Homeownership: The American Dream" plate, the 6 Nascar plates [[one general one, 5 others for specific drivers), the Rocky Mountain Elk plate [[remember, this is for SOUTH CAROLINA plates), and the "Tree My Dog" plate which is apparently for "coon hunters". Perhaps the most unfortunate "open for misinterpretation" plate is the "Parrothead" plate. No, it's not for Jimmy Buffett fans, but instead is for some Alzheimers charity. I'll refrain from the jokes about the organization forgetting what they were when they submitted the plate...

Lots of out of state college plates as well for schools like Ohio State, sponsored by the alumni associations.

I know in SC the main "alternate" plate that says "In God We Trust" is pushed hardcore by the DMV, so I guess they've decided to use the alternate plates as a main revenue stream. Hopefully Michigan won't go the same route.

ETA - apparently the Parrothead plate does have some Jimmy Buffett connection, but I still think it's bizarre, especially for a tacky license plate.