License Plates with Business Names

[daleduke17]

http://illinoishomepage.net/fulltext...edium=facebook

If you ask "can Illinois get any stupider?" the answer is a big YES. Why not just cut down on the different styles of plates?

Illinois has plates for (most are available not just for cars, but for trucks as well):

- Agriculture
- "America Remembers" (aka ugly ass 9/11 plates)
- Awareness of whatever (Autism, several cancers, AIDS, organ donor)
- Firefighter (and Fire Chief)
- EMT/Paramedic
- Police Officer (Active and retired)
- Every branch of the military (Active, retired, missing, dead, disabled)
- Bears, Bulls, White Sox, Cubs
- Education (another ugly ass plate)
- Pets
- Violence Prevention
- hunting/fishing
- Sororities/Fraternities
- State Owned Schools (WIU, UIUC, ISU etc)
- Notre Dame (WTF?)

Really? And that is just an overview. That doesn't include the temporary plates that you can get for a local festival (CG Rodeo Days, Art and Balloon Fest, for example) that are good for a few weeks. Cut back on the amount of plates, just have one for each type of vehicle and be done with it. That would save money as you wouldn't have to commission a design for each, the different inks, etc.

What's your next move, Illinois? How can you top this one?

[AdminAssistant]

A lot of states have those. Kansas for instance: http://www.ksrevenue.org/dmv-plates.htm

One for each public university, military, disease awareness of various sorts, and, amazingly, an "In God We Trust" plate. Here we also see a lot of the different plates for each Native tribe, since there's a Native-only college in town.

[Ipecac Drano]

From what I know, the owners of those plates have to pay more for them and in some cases the extra revenue goes to the state. Otherwise, the extra money goes to the institutions represented on the plates.

Not too bad of a deal.

[Andara Bledin]

Cut back on the amount of plates, just have one for each type of vehicle and be done with it. That would save money as you wouldn't have to commission a design for each, the different inks, etc.

So, I take it you missed the part where the businesses pay for the privilege, making it a revenue generator not a money pit. The last line indicates that it's been proven in another state, so isn't the bad idea the OP makes it out to be.

A similar program in Texas has brought in more than $50,000 in about a year.

^-.-^

[daleduke17]

From what I know, the owners of those plates have to pay more for them and in some cases the extra revenue goes to the state. Otherwise, the extra money goes to the institutions represented on the plates.

Not too bad of a deal.

Yes, the special plates cost more. I used to have the firefighter plates until they were priced out of my range. The extra went to the firefighter memorial in front of the state capitol building.

To me, the state is just trying to get out of really figuring out what is going on and fixing that. Probably some crony of a legislator would get in trouble.

[AdminAssistant]

I wonder if that $50,000 that was brought in was gross or net. Because the design and construction of these plates must cost something.

[Hyena Dandy]

Construction doesn't cost much, since most license plates are made in prisons, and if the businesses payed for it, the design can't cost much either, since I think (at least in Massachusetts) they have to submit a design, and a certain number of people guaranteed to get the plates so they know there will be at least a small profit."

[daleduke17]

Construction doesn't cost much, since most license plates are made in prisons, and if the businesses payed for it, the design can't cost much either, since I think (at least in Massachusetts) they have to submit a design, and a certain number of people guaranteed to get the plates so they know there will be at least a small profit."

Unfortunately Illinois contracts out the license plate manufacturing. God forbid an Illinois prisoner soil their hands at working on something. *rolleyes*

[Tanasi]

Everytime I go to renew the tags on a car I'm amazed at the number of available plates. I usually go to a satalite office, it has very very high ceilings. They have chains hanging from the ceiling sample plates attached, There must be over 100 plates and from what the ladies tell me that's not all just what they have room for.
Once upon a time we had several various plates, now we just have regular run of the mill state plates. When my county added a wheel tax that oddly enough was the same price as the vanity plate, most folks dropped the vanity plates instead of moving to a neighboring county to avoid the wheel tax.
One thing I wish they didn't do was issue alumni plates for schools outside the state, I think they should be limited to instate schools.

[draggar]

These are just the popular ones in Florida, our "DMV" offices (well, tags office) has a wall full of them:

Florida College and University License Plates
The state of Florida has a license plate for nearly every college or university. Here is a short list of the top ten. The full list can be found on the application for personalized license plate form.

Florida State University
University of Florida
University of Central Florida
University of Miami
Florida A & M University
Florida Atlantic University
University of South Florida
Jacksonville University
Stetson University
Nova SouthEastern University

Support the Troops
If you are in the Military, were in the Military, or just want to show your support for the Military you can choose from several plates. Here are a few examples.

Air Force
Navy
Army
Cost Guard
Marine Corps

State Your Cause
Florida also has license plates for a variety of family, environmental, charitable, and other causes. Below are just a few of the license plates you can select from.

Choose Life
Protect Wild Dolphins
Salutes Firefighters
American Red Cross
Challenger Columbia
Go Fishing
Animal Friend
Jacksonville University
End Brest Cancer
Stop Child Abuse

I don't mind it, I have the Challenger / Columbia one on my car and it's only $10-$30 a year more (unlike NJ where it was $200-$250).

[fireheart17]

In Adelaide, the stupid plate themes are:

Adelaide Crows
Port Power (both AFL teams, which quite frankly, suck)
Clipsal500 (a motorace)
Adelaide Zoo (not so bad if they didn't put the f@&$in PANDAS in)

You can also have corporate numberplates (not sure if it's just colours in the plates, or if there's a logo there too).

Prenium numberplates (which are apparaently meant to give your car style....-_-)

European Number plates (to fit your European car! Why don't we have Japanese numberplates!)

Custom or personalised numberplates (the difference is that with custom you don't need numbers, with personalised you do)

R&S series numberplates (for drivers who restored cars from that era and want old-fashioned numberplates as well).

[AdminAssistant]

Vanity plates (personalized licensed plates) are incredibly popular around here....Yesterday, while driving to KC, we saw one that said, "DR LOVE" Riiiiggghhhtttt

[daleduke17]

Vanity plates (personalized licensed plates) are incredibly popular around here....Yesterday, while driving to KC, we saw one that said, "DR LOVE" Riiiiggghhhtttt

The best one I saw was a clever one: TEN S NE 1

[Andara Bledin]

Speaking of vanity plates, I saw one that said I<32ANLZU ... I don't know about the rest of you, but that doesn't suggest "I love to analyze you" at first glance. >_>

And another, the same day on the same stretch of road said, KNDICAB. After the first, we weren't being charitable with what that was supposed to mean.

^-.-^

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

The thing you have to realize is how these plates are made. It's a plastic film that covers the metal of the plate. This film usually has the state logo, the state name, in some states a hologram, and the reflective coating that makes it easy to read it at night.

The only real cost above and beyond the the cost of a traditional plate is the printing on the film.

Here is how they make street signs, but the process is the same for licence plates.

Now if you take a state that already has for its default plate a four color process silk-screening, there is no additional cost per plate apart from the negligible cost for the creation of a new set of stencils which is relatively cheap over a run of plates.

So your plate may cost (using Maryland for example) $128 per every two years and an additional $20 per year ($40 for two) for one of the commemoration plates. That plate didn't cost $168 to make. That plate cost the state maybe $10 for a normal plate, another $5 for the extra silk screening.

$5 for a plate that they are going to sell to you for $20. And not only that, that's per year. So you buy a new car and put commemoration plates on it. You're (hopefully) going to have that car for the three-five years for the financing and perhaps as long as ten years.

That's $5 for the plate leaving $15 for the first year's profit and $20 for the life of the car. That's $95 if you only have it 5 years and $195 if you have it for 10 (minus the money that goes for the administrative fees of course).

Now most places will not make runs of plates (or of anything like this) of less than 500-1,000 plates. That's $47,500 if they sell the full run of 500 plates. And if they sell more...then it's all gravy. That's money that can go to offset the costs of running the DMV or money that can go to the organizations on the plates.

So having a wide array of plates that would attract a bunch of different people makes sense since there are people who are willing to spend the extra money for the plates.

If people are willing to buy a product (no matter how silly), the people who are willing and able to provide the product at a price that makes a profit are far from being fools.