As I drive around and see different state license plates, I think yay or nay. Some are really cool and some are misses.

My thoughts on a couple of them:

California - the cursive script is cool, but otherwise bland.

Washington - Mt. Rainier and the colors are soothing, but some people don't like it because not all of the state can see Mt. Rainier from where they are...and eastern WA is very different from the Seattle area where most of the population resides.

Arizona - not bad

Utah - TOO colorful

Nevada - washed out with its golden sky...Nevada, in my mind, used to have the BEST plate of all the states: it was called the Big Horn design.

The plate was essentially silver and in various shades of gray, it lightly depicted a desertscape with yucca trees and a bighorn sheep at one corner on a ridge. In navy blue Bonanza-type western letters, it said Nevada on top and Silver State on the bottom. But they got rid of it.

New York - the colors chosen are kind of washed out and too cluttered in its story across the top. I think I preferred the last one (red, white and blue) with the Statue of Liberty. In the 80s, they had the ominous orange with navy blue letters and it looked great on a black limousine.

Florida - I'm not so big on the oranges. I LOVED the one with the state outline, white/green/peach coloring and the name of the county of the bottom

Edited October 14, 200619 yr by trinacriabob

Um... blue and yellow on white for the Keystone State?

Anyways, for me, any plate than has to be seen on the front of a vehicle equals a state I will never live in.

I like the California plates...Florida, Arizona, Nevada, and Missouri.

I like my state of Florida's because you can do this...

the old black deleware plates

I don't know, I'd say this one kicks some serious ass.

Who doesn't love Oklahoma?

I really like a lot of the older plates better from states like California, Nebraska, New York, etc. I like the California one they had in the 80s with the sun and the California script over it. I also like the New York one with the Statue of Liberty...the new one isn't distinctive enough, IMO.

But for new plates, the West has a lot of good ones. Idaho, Utah, Montana, Arizona, and Wyoming, and Kansas all have some pretty neat ones.

Iowa's isn't too bad...I like how the silhouette of a city skyline is in the background.

Much better than this beast we had for 10 years

Iowa's isn't too bad...I like how the silhouette of a city skyline is in the background.

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Bingo. And Nevada's was much like that....a desertscape in the backgroud that was very muted, carrying familiar cues: the bighorn sheep, the rocks, the desert trees, etc. just like Iowa's has a silo. And Nevada's wall ALL silver which made it look distinctive.

I like some of the newer plates, but not the overly colored tacky ones.

south dakotas (where i live) is boring,

i love montanas

and my favorite is nevada's

Kentucky has about a million diffrent licence plates. Right now thier most popular have these little holographic lines on them. Well, at least thats what I mostly see.

and my favorite is nevada's

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No, sir. Since when does Nevada have a YELLOW sky...can you dig up the Big Horn design and post it? THAT ONE was beautiful. I think they still feature it as an extra-cost personalized option.

This one?

I like the plain blue and white Michigan plates.... something about them just says "automotive industry" Kinda like the truck I'm driving now.... you see a new vehicle with michigan plates out of the state of MI and you think "Corporate car or truck"

This one?

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YES!

That was the best plate ever for the Western style lettering (seen at the welcome signs at the state line), the color gradations, the theme and the overall balance, don't you agree? And what looks white is actually a very light shade of silver/gray.

Sure is better than the yellow sky one called "the Sunset Plate."

THANKS, Mustang.

Edited October 15, 200619 yr by trinacriabob

In Canada, there are 10 provinces and 3 territories. One of the most unusual plates anywhere has to be our Northwest Territories plate in the shape of a bear:

Edited October 15, 200619 yr by HarleyEarl

Kentucky had some f@#king terrible plate designs three years ago.

God damn, they look like they were designed by a team of pre-schoolers watching the f@#king Teletubbies.

It was sort of funny, though, because people would buy stickers of the face frowning or grinding it's teeth and stick them over the smiley face.

We chose the following deisgn to circumvent the above one on our Impala.

I like these vintage California plates, this one and the earlier black version.

Kentucky had some f@#king terrible plate designs three years ago.

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Horrible...both of them. What does a tiger have to do with Kentucky?

Horrible...both of them.  What does a tiger have to do with Kentucky?

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Isn't that a bobcat or Lynx?

Edited October 15, 200619 yr by HarleyEarl

I like these vintage California plates, this one and the earlier black version. 

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I do like that one. I don't like the black that preceded it.

I still wish it would have sported "Golden State" underneath...but I don't think state nicknames and cute stuff were part of the picture when these plates were around.

Horrible...both of them.

Hey, hey, hey. Don't rub it in.

What does a tiger have to do with Kentucky?

It's actually supposed to a lynx or a wildcat. The main college sports team in KY is the UK Wildcats (football and basketball mostly; there's also the Louisville Cardinals but that's besides the point), so I guess they made it as a reference to them. We're not big fans of that team, though. (No one in our household is big sports nuts, anyway.) We just selected the design because it beat the $h! out of the main-dish design.

This is the new design, by the way. People hated the standard design so much, they changed it. It's a little bland, but so, so, so, so much better.

I hate our state slogan, though. It makes me think sometimes that the stigma this state mostly carries is actually justified.

Overall, though, Kentucky can't make a license plate design worth the steel it's stamped out of.

I hate our state slogan, though.

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Much cleaner. I would have never made the association with Cardinals and Wildcats...both of those are duped at so many schools...Huskies are at both UW Seattle and U Conn. I don't think the slogan is that bad...it's actually decent.

Eh, it sounds cheesy to me.

But I guess it's better than "It's That Friendly." God, that slogan was bad.

Edited October 15, 200619 yr by YellowJacket894

YES!

That was the best plate ever for the Western style lettering (seen at the welcome signs at the state line), the color gradations, the theme and the overall balance, don't you agree?  And what looks white is actually a very light shade of silver/gray.

Sure is better than the yellow sky one called "the Sunset Plate."

THANKS, Mustang.

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That silver gray one is hideous! when i lived in vegas the sky was pretty damn sunny and yellow!

I saw a Northwest Territory plate on an Expedition a couple months ago. Looked pretty cool, I wish unique designs like that would come around more often.

I like these vintage California plates, this one and the earlier black version. 

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Those look way too much like PA's old plates...

--------

The vintage style:

I like the PA plates that came after with its shape stamped into them:

More...

The current ones arent bad... but they're bland:

I think my Massachusetts House of Representatives green plate (1977-1988) is pretty nifty. It's brand new and has never been on a car. It's a shame I couldn't somehow get it registered on my '71 Coupe DeVille. I'd be able to double or triple park anywhere I wanted to. Maybe get drunk and bomb around town with a couple girls in the back seat, pretending I'm Ted Kennedy. The possibilities would be endless

I think Florida has the most specialty plate choices of any state, somewhere around 85. Here are few of the stupider ones...

The reason why the DISCOVER FLORIDA'S OCEANS one is stupid is because we have one ocean, unless we moved the state recently.

I admit I have one, but mine's cool...

we have the same choose life tag in alabama. The basic alabama plate is a little dull, but there are several different ones you can get

NH has a few plates, not much compared to other states.

We do have the highest % of vanity plates though.

New Style:

Old Style:

Misc. Plates:

we have the same choose life tag in alabama. The basic alabama plate is a little dull, but there are several different ones you can get

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STARS FELL ON

1 2 3 A B C

ALABAMA

That's what I remember seeing when I was vacationing in Pensacola.

Edited October 15, 200619 yr by trinacriabob

That silver gray one is hideous! when i lived in vegas the sky was pretty damn sunny and yellow!

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Well then, young man, we have to agree to disagree!

So many plates are rather garish and gaudy. I tend to like them simple.

Here, years ago they used to completely change the plate every year. It was fun. You'd look forward to the new color. Now it's just sticker and some plates get so old and cracked that you can't read them. And some put those old plates on brandnew vehicles. huh?!!!...looks like crap.

Also here in Alberta they are required only on the rear of the car. Sure is nice seeing cars without them, especially fronts of exotic cars.

Here in Michigan the Blue Plate special is being replaced in the near future.

Also, the "Bridge" plate is replaced as of 1/1/07 with the new design in green.

Here in Michigan the Blue Plate special is being replaced in the near future.

Also, the "Bridge" plate is replaced as of 1/1/07 with the new design in green.

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People get bent out of shape when the plates only show a segment of what the state is about. In the case of Michigan, the bridge at Mackinac (sp) which is so far removed from the population centers might bring on that reaction, though indeed a beautiful area.

I think that the new one has a little bit too much going on, or it could have been composed differently.

A lot of the new plate designs just aren't that good IMHO.

Edited October 16, 200619 yr by trinacriabob

I like the old white on green Colorado plates..the newer ones (green on white) aren't as appealing...white mountains and green sky?

I also like the old white on red Arizona plates, though the current ones are nice... I like the current California plates with the script, as were the Ski! Utah ones from a while back..

I also like the old white on red Arizona plates, though the current ones are nice... I like the current California plates with the script, as were the Ski! Utah ones from a while back..

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Arizona's are ok...it used to be that burgundy/white made AZ and MO look an awful lot alike.

The Ski Utah ones were simple...the Monument Rock ones are too much.

I think Florida has the most specialty plate choices of any state, somewhere around 85.

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PA has alot of specialty plates, I dont know how many, though. They are mostly wildlife oriented.

Centenial plate.

I don't even remember this one.

This is the plate they put on your car if your licence has been revoked but other family members still drive your car. Expect frequent police harassment if you have one of these.

Support out troops plate.

Critical habitat plate.

Other critical habitat plate.

Fire fighter plate.

Dealer plate.

Apportioned plate.

Vet plate.

Pioneer Plate.

Collector plate.

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I always notice the "Support Our Troups" and the newer "Critical Habitat" plates. They are by far my Minnesota Favorites.