  Yaktown Member Username: Yaktown Post Number: 297 Registered: 02-2006 |
Has anyone else noticed vehicles around town that still have the old Superior blue license plates? Are these people stubbornly refusing to change over to the new plates? I saw a van today sporting the old blue plates with an October 2007 expiration tag! Makes me think he probably didn't have insurance either. | ||
Toog05 Member Username: Toog05 Post Number: 169 Registered: 03-2006 |
Well that will be easy for police to spot. | ||
Mrjoshua Member Username: Mrjoshua Post Number: 1546 Registered: 03-2005 |
I just changed mine over last month. I miss the blue plate. | ||
Ddmoore54 Member Username: Ddmoore54 Post Number: 340 Registered: 07-2004 |
No, some of the people with birthdays in the early months got tags for the old plates last year. They will be getting the new ones soon enough. | ||
Monahan568 Member Username: Monahan568 Post Number: 271 Registered: 04-2004 |
thats ironic you posted this today haha, I was stuck behind one just this afternoon getting off 94 @ outer drive - blue plate / july 07 sticker still hanging on! you stay classy, outer driver... (Message edited by monahan568 on January 30, 2008) | ||
Jerrytimes Member Username: Jerrytimes Post Number: 98 Registered: 04-2007 |
I don't get why Michigan had to waste state tax money on these new plates. I always liked the Blue ones. | ||
Michigansheik Member Username: Michigansheik Post Number: 267 Registered: 09-2005 |
july 07!? Good thing we can be sure that their insurance is not out of date! i agree, replacing them all at once was an unnecessary expense. i did read that the process for making the white reflective Paint on the blue ones was not safe, the main reason for the change. The new plates have a reflective film that is applied, not a paint, no nasty fumes i believe. | ||
Wazootyman Member Username: Wazootyman Post Number: 307 Registered: 02-2006 |
"The Old Blue plate has had a good run in Michigan but it is time to move to a design that uses modern technology and improves visibility," said Land. "This change will also allow the state to use the same type of material for all of its license plates, which makes production more efficient." http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0, 1607,7-127-1640_9150-143455--, 00.html | ||
Living_in_the_d Member Username: Living_in_the_d Post Number: 17 Registered: 01-2008 |
Yeah, I got my blue plate when they first came out,1982, it was time for a change. | ||
Norwalk Member Username: Norwalk Post Number: 185 Registered: 11-2006 |
does anyone know if the WAB still gives a free pint in exchange for a blue plate?? | ||
Monahan568 Member Username: Monahan568 Post Number: 273 Registered: 04-2004 |
why would you give someone your old plate?! | ||
Fury13 Member Username: Fury13 Post Number: 3696 Registered: 10-2003 |
I remember when the Secretary of State's office would change the plates nearly every year, along with the colors. The mustard-colored 1970 plate (with white lettering) had to be the worst! Here's an interesting site about license plates: http://www.licenseplates.cc/ Yes, people collect license plates! I don't foresee a long life for the new standard white plates... white gets discolored so easily. Witness some of the older "World's Motor Capital" plates that are still being used -- they're barely readable. | ||
Ferntruth Member Username: Ferntruth Post Number: 317 Registered: 11-2006 |
"does anyone know if the WAB still gives a free pint in exchange for a blue plate??" As far as I know they are. I enjoyed two complimentary pints when I switched the plates on my trucks. | ||
Commodore64 Member Username: Commodore64 Post Number: 253 Registered: 11-2003 |
Yeah, I miss my old blue plates. The argument that the white plates are easier it read is BS. When the new and old styles were still on the road, I just couldn't see what the fuss was about. If anything, the old Blue/Whites were EASIER to read at night. They did change the font on the plates a few years ago, perhaps that was the issue. It was a giant waste of money. They could have allowed the blue/whites to be renewed but not transferable or bought new. It would saved a few bucks doing it that way. My Neighbor has an expired blue/white from APRIL. | ||
Rsa Member Username: Rsa Post Number: 1378 Registered: 10-2003 |
weren't the different color plates in the seventies representative of the colors of the state schools? [plus the bicentennial.] | ||
Fury13 Member Username: Fury13 Post Number: 3698 Registered: 10-2003 |
http://www.worldlicenceplates. com/usa/US_MIXX.html Standard-issue Michigan plates of the '70s to now. | ||
Norwalk Member Username: Norwalk Post Number: 187 Registered: 11-2006 |
"why would you give someone your old plate?••••• For a free Pint of course! Thats more than I could get at the scrap yard | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 2619 Registered: 04-2006 |
My old blue plate is sitting in a box. I think I might frame it. | ||
Rsa Member Username: Rsa Post Number: 1379 Registered: 10-2003 |
hmmm; based on that website it looks like my theory applies to the 60's and maybe a little before... | ||
Spacemonkey Member Username: Spacemonkey Post Number: 295 Registered: 03-2006 |
Any of you notice that the newer white plates are rusting around the letters. On some plates I'm behind, I can hardly read the letters as they are rusted together like. | ||
Flanders_field Member Username: Flanders_field Post Number: 102 Registered: 01-2008 |
Maybe the state should consider allowing corporate advertising on non-personalized license plates, as a means of raising revenue, below the alpha-numeric IDs and make the plates out of hard plastic, instead of metal. I remember some dealerships including plate brackets with their name on it. and some went even further than that, putting their name on a decal or worse, hard plastic lettering somewhere on the rear of the vehicle. | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 2633 Registered: 01-2005 |
For the life of me, I never could figure out why someone would keep a license plate frame on his car that advertised a dealership. If the dealership wants to pay me fifty bucks a month to advertise his business, well, then, okay. Otherwise, stick your frame up your tailpipe. | ||
Flanders_field Member Username: Flanders_field Post Number: 103 Registered: 01-2008 |
The dealerships were likely counting on people being too lazy to remove them, I just tossed 'em asap. The decals placed on painted areas of the rear of a vehicle, esp the metallic ones, were a bit more difficult to remove, though. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 4874 Registered: 10-2003 |
For those who asked why somebody would want an old license plate, the WAB makes their menus out of old license plates. Ray, I'm with you! Free advertising, blah! I feel the same way about T-shirts with a Nike logo or whatever on it. F that, I'm not buying it. You pay me if you want me to be a billboard. | ||
Fury13 Member Username: Fury13 Post Number: 3708 Registered: 10-2003 |
I'm with you on that, Johnlodge. | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 2634 Registered: 01-2005 |
"I feel the same way about T-shirts with a Nike logo or whatever on it. F that, I'm not buying it" Agree, although I'm proud to wear my Red Wings sweatshirts out here in Vegas, Johnlodge.  | ||
Goldensunshine Member Username: Goldensunshine Post Number: 59 Registered: 11-2005 |
My car is a 2005, and I was issued a blue plate. ..I just got it exchanged for my Washington State plates since I moved to Seattle. I didn't realize my blue plates were out of style! I thought the other ones were specialty plates where you pay extra! LOL | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 4876 Registered: 10-2003 |
quote: Well hey, Ray, when you choose to personally endorse a superior product, it's understandable. | ||
Hpgrmln Member Username: Hpgrmln Post Number: 354 Registered: 06-2007 |
Tennessee and Kentucky change theirs every 3 or 4 years and they are much nicer than ours. Pretty naturescapes.Immediatly, when the original bridge plate came out, I bought one because I liked having a scenic plate. If we're going to pay for a plate on our cars, might as well make it nice to look at. We're catching up.Florida has, like 15 different designs, and many look pretty cool. | ||
Msamslex Member Username: Msamslex Post Number: 33 Registered: 06-2007 |
Another thing about the new plates and some of the old blue plates. Why the change from 3 letters and 3 numbers to 3 letters and 4 numbers?? And why do they all start with the letter B?? Don't recall reading about the change anywhere or hearing about it. Just because there are more vehicles on the road now?? | ||
Yaktown Member Username: Yaktown Post Number: 298 Registered: 02-2006 |
Quoting Norwalk..."does anyone know if the WAB still gives a free pint in exchange for a blue plate??" OK, what and where is this WAB? I've quite a few old blue plates lying around and I'm in the mood for a beer. | ||
Mauser765 Member Username: Mauser765 Post Number: 2388 Registered: 01-2004 |
"why Michigan had to waste state tax money on these new plates." Look in the center of your new plate. That implanted holographic identifier is the reason for the change. | ||
Fury13 Member Username: Fury13 Post Number: 3734 Registered: 10-2003 |
Another thing about the new plates and some of the old blue plates. Why the change from 3 letters and 3 numbers to 3 letters and 4 numbers?? They probably wanted added numbering capacity, for a potential increase in the number of cars on the road in the future, and wanted to stay with the same format (3 letters/4 numbers) for a long time. The switch to the 3/4 format from the 3/3 format occurred during the blue plate run, in 2005, I believe. And why do they all start with the letter B?? Because the last series of blue plates started with A (with the 3/4 format). With the new white plate, the sequence started with BAA 0000. I suppose the white plates could have started with AJX 2000, since the highest-numbered blue plate produced was AJX 1999, but evidently the Secretary of State's office decided to jump to the B's. More than you ever wanted to know about Michigan license plates: http://www.licenseplates.cc/hi ghs/?where=Michigan | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 1272 Registered: 11-2003 |
A stronger candidate for waste of tax dollars is the gradual replacement of ALL highway signs on state highways (except for route shields). No matter how new the signs are, they're all coming down, replaced by ones with a new font. "Clearview" is supposed to be easier to read, and I'll grudgingly admit it is, a bit. But come on. Anybody who has difficulty reading the old font probably has no business driving. | ||
Border5150 Member Username: Border5150 Post Number: 191 Registered: 03-2004 |
I heard somewhere that the state had to replace the plates because the process use to make the reflective paint is now obsolete. The White plates with the blue "Michigan" stripe are weak. The "spectacular peninsula" plates remind me too much of the New York plates. If Michigan is still home to the "Motor City" its too bad the state be on the cutting edge with this stuff. The last really unique plate design to come out of Michigan was the Bicentennial plate. | ||
Hpgrmln Member Username: Hpgrmln Post Number: 355 Registered: 06-2007 |
My "great lakes splendor" plate had to be retired after a cop pulled me over for it. The coating peeled so badly around the lettering it became too difficult to read. I've noticed this problem on those plates. | ||
Wilus1mj Member Username: Wilus1mj Post Number: 241 Registered: 05-2005 |
Will the state replace those peeling plates for free? | ||
Mauser765 Member Username: Mauser765 Post Number: 2389 Registered: 01-2004 |
"replaced by ones with a new font." Clearview is not a new sign font, it is only new to Michigan signage. | ||
Johnnny5 Member Username: Johnnny5 Post Number: 691 Registered: 06-2005 |
"Any of you notice that the newer white plates are rusting around the letters. On some plates I'm behind, I can hardly read the letters as they are rusted together like." I noticed that as well. My plate is less than 6 months old and it's rusted all the way around the edges. The bad part is that rust leads to more rust and after time it will spread to the steel on the car. | ||
Novine Member Username: Novine Post Number: 409 Registered: 07-2007 |
In terms of highway signage, Clearview is a relative newcomer: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08 /12/magazine/12fonts-t.html | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 4397 Registered: 12-2005 |
Regarding highway signage, there was a recent story about mileage markers. They're planning to plant highway mileage markers at every tenth of a mile instead of every mile across the country. In this age of GPS that seems suspiciously unnecessary. Imagine how lucrative the contract would be to boost mileage sign production ten-fold! qui bono? | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 2642 Registered: 01-2005 |
"at every tenth of a mile instead of every mile" Not quite, Jim. The new markers will be at every 2/10ths of a mile. They're already in place in a number of locations, and I think it's a good thing. Mile 240 will be followed by 240.2, 240.4, 240.6, 240.8, and 241. No odd tenths. | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 4399 Registered: 12-2005 |
Okay, Ray1936, I'll accept that on faith. However the question about necessity still stands in this day of GPS. | ||
Wally Member Username: Wally Post Number: 373 Registered: 12-2003 |
quote: I doubt it. Anyone know for sure? There are a lot of rusty plates out there. | ||
East_detroit Member Username: East_detroit Post Number: 1447 Registered: 11-2003 |
If your license plate was lost or stolen, you can obtain a replacement license plate at a Secretary of State Branch Office. Bring your registration or the license plate number of the lost or stolen plate. A replacement license plate with a new year tab will be issued for $5, along with a new registration. A license plate can only be replaced by the vehicle owner, by a member of the owner's family living at the same address, or by a representative of the owner with an Appointment of Agent form completed by the vehicle owner. (If only the year tab was lost or stolen, it can also be replaced in the same manner. In this case, a new license plate will not be issued.) | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 11446 Registered: 12-2003 |
There are a lot of broken plastic booties that were supposed to make our light poles look better, too. Government never pays for governmental mistakes, we do! | ||
East_detroit Member Username: East_detroit Post Number: 1448 Registered: 11-2003 |
We are the government. | ||
Ro_resident Member Username: Ro_resident Post Number: 295 Registered: 11-2003 |
The system's not quite ready for a GPS-only solution. For one, the mile marker signs act as confidence markers for motorists looking for exits. On the other hand, the signs are used to pinpoint and clear crashes/breakdowns/congestion, etc. Having mile markers at a finer grain will help pinpoint the locations. An important consideration, under ideal conditions, GPS is accurate to within ~100 feet, which can put you on the wrong side of the freeway. Add in below grade freeways (a la the Lodge, I-696), the accuracy degrades or is nonexistant. Same for other GPS dead spots, cell dead spots, bridges, etc., therefore you have areas that GPS just won't work. Another factor, the various legacy systems that police, fire, ems, hazmat, etc. have don't always interconnect nicely. As for the Clearview font--it has been used in Michigan since at least 2004. There was a demonstration project comparing the new and old signs for a conference held at the Ren Cen that year. http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0 ,1607,7-151-9621_11041_32687-9 9977--,00.html (Message edited by Ro_resident on January 31, 2008) | ||
Msamslex Member Username: Msamslex Post Number: 34 Registered: 06-2007 |
Fury13, Thanks for the info on the plates letter/number changes. I figured it was just because of the increase in vehicles on the road now. msamslex | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 1274 Registered: 11-2003 |
Mauser765 wrote, "Clearview is not a new sign font, it is only new to Michigan signage." Um, that's what I meant with my post. New compared with the old font. I thought I was being pretty clear. | ||
Sticks Member Username: Sticks Post Number: 362 Registered: 08-2005 |
I actually took my old blue plate (first one I've ever had and have had it since 9/01) and ended up linking another blue plate and a Wisonsin plate together using some sort of U-bolts. Mounted the top one on the wall and it makes for an interesting piece. | ||
Bulletmagnet Member Username: Bulletmagnet Post Number: 968 Registered: 01-2007 |
Johnnny5, some of our plates are steel, and others are aluminum. I guess it depends on which prison they were stamped at. In Detroit, plates are optional, just like auto insurance is. A home made paper plate (temp license plate) might be necessary to ward off cops for Detroiters traveling in the burbs, though. But as long as a body isn’t falling out of the trunk or you’re not speeding on the side walk, the DPD aren’t going to bother you. | ||
Vetalalumni Member Username: Vetalalumni Post Number: 899 Registered: 05-2007 |
It was also "tacky" that some automobile dealership advertisements were placed on the paint of the vehicles, typically around the trunk area. Proudly displayed the 1976 red, white, and blue bicentennial plate on my first car in 1976. Still have several mid 80s MI blue plates out in the garage. Wear Tigers or UofM gear on weekends. Strangers often inquire and sometimes they are fellow Detroit or Michigan natives. | ||
Fastcarsfreedom Member Username: Fastcarsfreedom Post Number: 247 Registered: 11-2005 |
The rusting/flaking problem with the newer MI plates is not an isolated problem. Way'cross the river in Ontario the newest series of plates is suffering the same fate--the paint flakes/rusts in the area of the embossing, generally making the characters completely unreadable. | ||
Jrvass Member Username: Jrvass Post Number: 433 Registered: 01-2007 |
I've got a "Winter Water Wonderland" from the mid-'60s off my Great Uncle's Lincoln(?) with "suicide doors". JRV000 & JRV100 (my initials) Bicentennial plates. A personalized NMU plate (NMAU, say it again... enema U!). Currently I have a Mackinaw Bridge plate on my truck and a "Forest & City" plate on my convertible. And a permanent trailer on my boat. I've seen a lot of rusted/unreadable plates. I've yet to have one. | ||
Rocket_city Member Username: Rocket_city Post Number: 583 Registered: 04-2006 |
Funny this came up. I just saw one yesterday for the first time in a long time driving on 94 through downtown. I was thinking also that it's easy to spot by the authorities. |
