100 Words, Automotive, Fantasy, Uncategorized, Weather

Vanity Plates

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I think that vanity license plates are aptly named. I was at the grocery store last night in some snowy weather and almost ran into a Mercedes with a license plate that read “GAS”.  We have some pretty affluent oil industry folks out here, as well as landowners who have oil royalties.  The driver and passenger looked pretty elderly.  I would love to know their story.

What are some memorable vanity plates you have seen or heard of? Give some hypotheses about the Mercedes I saw last night.

56 thoughts on “Vanity Plates”

  3. The vanity plates that perplex me are the ones that simply state what the car itself is, “68VETTE” or “MYBENZ” or what have you. I would think if you are that proud of your car you would be happy to tell people over and over what the make/model is of your vehicle instead of just putting it on a piece of metal for people to read. Or do they need the reminder that this is the 68 vs the 69 Vette?…

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    1. Reminds me of RB Jones (his full name). When he was drafted into the army, they refused to accept a form identifying him by his real name. So he tried again: “R (only) B (only) Jones.” So his official name in the army became Ronly Bonly Jones.

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    1. I wrote that “this guy” is bragging with his vanity plate. I’m sure a male owns this car, ordered the plate and married the woman who sports a lot of bling. He wants you to admire his toys. Reminds me of someone.

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        1. That was the best photo of a Merc with plates I could find. The actual car I saw last night as a black, late model sedan.

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  8. I knew a couple that were both chiropractors whose plate was “2DRNLV”

    New Hampshire has a picture of a moose on their plates. Someone added “&SQRRL”. I love that idea.

    Former college President had plates that read “RCTC”. (Rochester Community and Technical College)

    I have wildlife plates on my car – the chickadee one.

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  9. Rise and Shine Baboons,

    I have seen some memorable plates that made me laugh, or made me curious, but like good jokes, they just do not stick in my head. Some cause me to puzzle them out for hours and some I never do understand.

    In Fountain HIlls expensive cars with vanity plates, driven by smug retirees are the standard. We feel like our Honda PIlot is all we could want in a car, especially its facility in a blizzard and snow drifts. However, the standard in Fountain HIlls and nearby Scottsdale is much, much different. And of course there is little snow to consider. There we are the poor folk. There are a number of Mazarattis on the roads there. I have noticed that the vanity plates on those cars are some version of “My Maz” individualized since they all seem to want to claim the Maz as their own unique statement of personhood. The same with the Lamborghinis. Those are “MY LAMBO.” Most of the Beamers, Mercedes Benzes, Infitinites, Acuras, etc. just have regular license plates or more unique vanity plates. All of the rest of us midwesterners tool around AZ in the slow lane with our second rate cars and ordinary license plates in blissful anonymity.

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    1. Perhaps because my last name starts with the letters MAZ, I’m aware that the fancy Italian car is spelled Maserati. Wasband was fond of emblazoning everything with Mrs. MAZZ on everything from books to my tennis racket when he was in the “she’s mine” stage.

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    3. In MN (but probably in most states) the state forbids certain plates because they are deemed offensive. So you never see a vanity plate with the number 69. I’ve always wondered how MNDOT enforces that prohibition. The logical way is that someone has to read and approve all the vanity requests before the plates are made. But who would do that, and how is that person selected? That’s a job you wouldn’t entrust to a sheltered person who doesn’t cuss or watch naughty films. You’d want the most profane, foul-minded person in the office, someone familiar with all the bad stuff the states doesn’t want on a vanity plate.

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  10. On my walk this morning I saw a pickup with the vanity plate SIR BBQ. Uncontroversial on its face but it made me wonder, is this a nickname the owner is giving himself? It doesn’t sound like one that anyone else would concoct for him. I always think it’s weird when people try to give themselves nicknames.

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  11. Our next door neighbor has a small engine repair shop, and his plates say simply GERARD – there aren’t that many Gerards around, so (I presume), he’s easily identifiable. His other main vehicle says HEY HEY, which also sounds just like him. I can’t remember w hat he has on the vintage carS… but next time they’re out I’ll pay attention… ’53 Buick, a Pontiac Grand Am?, and another sporty one.

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    1. The name vanity plate bothers me, for not all such plates are inspired by vanity. My erstwife gave me a vanity plate as a gift. It said “EDITOR,” and was a simple recognition of a job I loved. A funnier choice would have been EDITER.

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    1. I wonder if these poems lose something in translation. I mean I know I’m not good at poetry in the first place but still.
      And I can’t decide if they’re supposed to be dark? Or they just don’t translate properly.

      Incadescentproseblog – any thoughts? Or are you a bot?

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  13. A couple years ago I followed a car here in Rochester that had ‘Diplomatic plates. That’s pretty unusual here; never seen that before.
    Then the other day, in a Mayo Clinic parking ramp I saw a plate from an Indian reservation – Renee, you probably see them often. How are they listed, “Sovereign nation” I think it said? Something like that.

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      1. When we hunted pheasants on reservations in the Dakotas we bought tribal hunting licenses. Local people we encountered were often concerned about whether we had those licenses. The issue was not one of whether or not we were licensed. The issue was whether we had shown respect for the sovereign authority of the tribe. When they learned we had tribal licenses,they wished us well.

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  15. Parky, our late neighbor, loved gambling and went to the casino often. I’m sure he must have left a small fortune there. Once, however, he got lucky and won a bright red Jeep Cherokee. Parky was of Mexican descent, and his license plate for his new car read “K-Pasa.”

    Once in the parking lot at Target, an older woman in a car with a license plate that read “Shirley,” pulled into the parking spot right in front of us. When she got out of the car, husband said “Hi Shirley.” She looked confused and replied “Do I know you?” When husband responded that he didn’t think so, she asked “So how do you know my name?” He pointed to her license plate, and they both laughed.

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  16. One I had to have explained to me: 4X4X8, a plate on a Honda Accord.

    I’ve been having phone issues for the past few days, and have only been able to get to the Trail from the library. So if I’m not saying much lately, that’s why. The phone company is supposed to have the phone line fixed tomorrow by 11 PM. So over the weekend I can catch up on all the posts I’ve missed.

    Or I can do a little catching up tomorrow at the flower shop while I’m on break.

    If you need and explanation on the license plate…..

    “A cord” is a woodpile 4 feet high by 4 feet deep by 8 feet long.

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