Michigan License Plates

[Fury13]

Yes and you were out in the snow and ice trying to get the salt encrusted and rusted out nuts and bolts loose to change your plates. Usually it was a 10 degree day with a 20 MPH wind. We didn't have the little nylon inserts then, the plates were thru-bolted in the bumper.

Yeah, those old cars... you had to use through-bolts and lock washers. Always rusty when changing them out, and usually cold and snowing when you had to do it. I remember that...

[The Dude]

I think the plate colors went by what ever university was up for the plate that year.The 1965 and 1967 plates were Uof M Colors.MSU was early 60s?1970 gold and white was CMU or WMU?Northern?I may be way off base on this.
You can get a "year of manufactured" plate for your classic.That is why you see old cars with 1956 plates on them for example.The plate could have been used before,it most likely was.My 1967 plate I use was new in the wrapper.On the sleeve was the codes for what county the plates were issued in.

The infamous 1970 plates were for Oakland University. When James Hare was the secretary of state is was the practice to use Michigan colege colors for license plates

[The Dude]

http://www.worldlicenseplates.com

[The Dude]

Why not have permanent license plate numbers, juat like you have permanent driver's license numbers[[unless you change your name). Let's say for example your license plate number is ABC 1234, but one year, you want to have a personalized vanity plate, if you decide to go back to a regular plate, you would get ABC 1234, or if you decide not to get a vanity plate, five years from the time you got the plate, you would get a new plate with ABC 1234

[EMG]

Fury is correct in his response above this one. My late mother was office supervisor of the east Dearborn AAA for years, and she always 'pulled' the 7777 plate for me. Others in the office generally got their favorites, also, as did employees of the SOS. That was in the days when all plates expired at midnight on February 28 [[or 29, if a leap year).

I also remember that during my early years at Chrysler, there were special license plate series reserved by Chrysler for their company cars. The super-big-cheese executives had cars with license plate numbers starting with EAG, EAG, or EAL [[I never saw EAI, EAJ or, heaven forbid, EAK). I'm not sure what that EA_ was supposed to be - "Executive assigned??" Then the lesser-cheese managers had CHX, CHY, or CHZ - obviously playing off "Chrysler."

I imagine there were similar series for GM and Ford execs, but I never knew what they were. But it was always easy to tell, anywhere I went in Michigan [[or the country for that matter) when a Chrysler car belonged to some exec.

This all changed some time in the early 90's when the company cars started getting any old combination. So I imagine that there was a cost to reserving those series that Chrysler decided it could no longer afford.

Around about this same time it was obvious within the Grosse Pointes that residents were getting license plates reserved in special series to denote their cities as well. GPW for the Woods, GPF for the Farms, and so on.

[Retroit]

Why not have permanent license plate numbers, juat like you have permanent driver's license numbers[[unless you change your name). Let's say for example your license plate number is ABC 1234, but one year, you want to have a personalized vanity plate, if you decide to go back to a regular plate, you would get ABC 1234, or if you decide not to get a vanity plate, five years from the time you got the plate, you would get a new plate with ABC 1234

That makes a lot of sense in theory, but the cost and logistics would be prohibitive. Right now, plates are randomly distributed. What you are suggesting is that each plate be custom made. There is a reason vanity plates cost extra.

[The Dude]

I don't if this can be done, but if the state can't issue you a new plate every five years, if your plate is worn out and illegibble, go down to one of the SOS offices, park in a lot, not a public street, take off the plate, and say for 10 or 20 dollar fee, the plate would be sent out to redone, you would get one of those paper window temporary permits, and you would get your old, fixed-up plate in the mail.

[Ltdave]

Why not have permanent license plate numbers, juat like you have permanent driver's license numbers

in cali the plate, once 'assigned' to a car, stays with the car...

if you want a vanity plate then you can get a vanity plate but it doesnt transfer with the car. you have to 're-pay' the fee to put it on any subsequent car...

[The Dude]

in cali the plate, once 'assigned' to a car, stays with the car...

if you want a vanity plate then you can get a vanity plate but it doesnt transfer with the car. you have to 're-pay' the fee to put it on any subsequent car...

So, in other words, when you sell your car in California, the plate stays on the car with the new owner?

[Hermod]

So, in other words, when you sell your car in California, the plate stays on the car with the new owner?

Several states used to do it that way. The car was registered and the plate identified the car [[and the current owner).

[rooms222]

I also remember that during my early years at Chrysler, there were special license plate series reserved by Chrysler for their company cars.
Around about this same time it was obvious within the Grosse Pointes that residents were getting license plates reserved in special series to denote their cities as well. GPW for the Woods, GPF for the Farms, and so on.

I remember in the 90's with the Blue Plates, it appeared that a member of the AKA sorority was able to get many of the AKA plates for her sisters [[as they also would have AKA plate frames in most cases). Their closest counterparts the Deltas managed to a custom plate before Governor Granholm stopped allowing new non-governmental groups to get custom plates [[i.e. the ones with the little logo on the left like the University plates)....News stories at the time said it was because she did not want to be put in a position to rule on a Choose Life plate [[like many states including Indiana and Florida have).......