Cars We Drive!

[Piobaire]

Really thinking about that 4 door Outer Banks Bronco with the V-6. We shall see come the end of the year.

 

[HRoi]

This would be the only Outer Banks I’d be interested in:

 

[PhilKenSebben]

This would be the only Outer Banks I’d be interested in:

View attachment 1888989

I dont k ow who she is but I would take her for a test drive.....

 

[sugarbutch]

The shop I used to work at would put a plate frame on cars that came through. The owner didn't love it when I pushed back on the practice. I am always surprised when I see people driving around with those ugly, cheap frames on their six-figure cars.

 

[gnatty8]

I had physically stop my awful Audi salesguy this summer before he started drilling holes in my bumper.

Yikes. I mean, I would say 3 out of every 10 cars I see here don't have front tags, and they of course tend to be slightly pricier European models that didn't have front kits already done. Lesson learned was no tag might fly in the city since HPD doesn't really give a ****, and Highway Patrol isn't likely even going to notice in the sea of cars on freeways. But get out to rural Texas, where Highway Patrol or Sheriff's Department are bored AF, and almost guaranteed to get the $250 ticket

 

[Texasmade]

Yikes. I mean, I would say 3 out of every 10 cars I see here don't have front tags, and they of course tend to be slightly pricier European models that didn't have front kits already done. Lesson learned was no tag might fly in the city since HPD doesn't really give a ****, and Highway Patrol isn't likely even going to notice in the sea of cars on freeways. But get out to rural Texas, where Highway Patrol or Sheriff's Department are bored AF, and almost guaranteed to get the $250 ticket

Can't you normally get that dismissed? I got tagged with a no front plate ticket when I got pulled over for rolling through a stop sign once. I just taped the front plate on to my car and took a picture of that. I showed the judge a picture of my car and the mounted front plate and the judge dismissed my ticket.

 

[gnatty8]

Can't you normally get that dismissed? I got tagged with a no front plate ticket when I got pulled over for rolling through a stop sign once. I just taped the front plate on to my car and took a picture of that. I showed the judge a picture of my car and the mounted front plate and the judge dismissed my ticket.

Seriously? Assume that means the guy who wrote you the ticket originally was a no-show for your court date? My concern isn't one ticket, my concern is getting a ticket, paying it, getting a second, third. Is there a point it isn't just a $250 ticket anymore? That's kind of what I'd like to avoid, so on long trips, when I would expect to encounter more highway patrol, the Platypus is an ugly, but effective risk mitigation.

 

[Texasmade]

Seriously? Assume that means the guy who wrote you the ticket originally was a no-show for your court date? My concern isn't one ticket, my concern is getting a ticket, paying it, getting a second, third. Is there a point it isn't just a $250 ticket anymore? That's kind of what I'd like to avoid, so on long trips, when I would expect to encounter more highway patrol, the Platypus is an ugly, but effective risk mitigation.

I don't think it matters if the person was a no show. It was basically proof that I "installed" a front plate to rectify the situation. I still got dinged for the rolling through the stop sign and had to do defensive driving. I'm not a law talker but maybe it's because the no front plate isn't a moving violation.

I've taken road trips in my Mercedes C63 and Mini Cooper S to Austin/Dallas with neither car having a front plate. I never got pulled over for not having a front plate.

 

[gnatty8]

I don't think it matters if the person was a no show. It was basically proof that I "installed" a front plate to rectify the situation. I still got dinged for the rolling through the stop sign and had to do defensive driving. I'm not a law talker but maybe it's because the no front plate isn't a moving violation.

I've taken road trips in my Mercedes C63 and Mini Cooper S to Austin/Dallas with neither car having a front plate. I never got pulled over for not having a front plate.

Maybe you had a lenient judge there, since sounds like he took your photo as evidence you had remedied what was actually a violation when you were pulled over for the rolling stop, and chose to dismiss that original violation since you'd "remedied" the situation. In other words, you got lucky lol. Yeah, I routinely drive to Austin/Hill Country, Galveston etc., and had never been pulled over. My point was more when you get into far West Texas, where there are few fewer people, getting pulled over is almost a certainty, so the Platypus was a good, low impact way for me to continue avoiding ******** up the front of my car with drilled holes or ugly front tags, while mitigating the higher risks on longer road trips into less populated areas.

 

[otc]

I guess it depends on how the ticket is framed, right?

Is it more of a "fix it" ticket? Can you tell the cop "here, I have my plate, but there's no holes so I need to get to a dealer to fix it?" and then show up later with proof that you fixed it.

Or is it a penalty for for the violation in which case it isn't correctable since you already did it. Seems to vary by state (and also maybe officer's feelings) what kind of ticket you'd get.

But like I said...this always seems like a "car guy" affectation to me. 99% of people don't care, Europe requires them too (but their plates are cooler you say?), alternative mounts look worse. If the cars came drilled/with a bracket from the factory half the complaints would go away because people seem to be like "bUt I dOnT wAnT tO dRiLl HoLeS iN mY nEw CaR!"...most cars look totally fine with a front plate...its required in the majority of states. Maybe if it was required in the rest of them, more car manufacturers would design their front ends to have a nice spot to fit the plate too (*ahem* mazda miatas).

Stuff like this just looks tacky to me:

Unless you're trying to go with some stance-bro goofy look where you WANT asymmetry or you need an excuse to bolt some machined aluminum parts to your car (or its some sort of track car that you only occasionally need to be road legal), just mount the damn plate where it is supposed to go.

Keeping a mount like that on a car that gets normally road driven is like having a plastic cover on your sofa...maybe some people think "Oh, I'll just put it on when I'm driving in certain areas" but most of them get lazy and leave that thing on year-round. So either just mount the damn plate like the law requires, or eat the occasional ticket (and maybe try to fight it with some double-stick tape).

 

[sugarbutch]

I guess it depends on how the ticket is framed, right?

Is it more of a "fix it" ticket? Can you tell the cop "here, I have my plate, but there's no holes so I need to get to a dealer to fix it?" and then show up later with proof that you fixed it.

Or is it a penalty for for the violation in which case it isn't correctable since you already did it. Seems to vary by state (and also maybe officer's feelings) what kind of ticket you'd get.

But like I said...this always seems like a "car guy" affectation to me. 99% of people don't care, Europe requires them too (but their plates are cooler you say?), alternative mounts look worse. If the cars came drilled/with a bracket from the factory half the complaints would go away because people seem to be like "bUt I dOnT wAnT tO dRiLl HoLeS iN mY nEw CaR!"...most cars look totally fine with a front plate...its required in the majority of states. Maybe if it was required in the rest of them, more car manufacturers would design their front ends to have a nice spot to fit the plate too (*ahem* mazda miatas).

Stuff like this just looks tacky to me:

Unless you're trying to go with some stance-bro goofy look where you WANT asymmetry or you need an excuse to bolt some machined aluminum parts to your car (or its some sort of track car that you only occasionally need to be road legal), just mount the damn plate where it is supposed to go.

Keeping a mount like that on a car that gets normally road driven is like having a plastic cover on your sofa...maybe some people think "Oh, I'll just put it on when I'm driving in certain areas" but most of them get lazy and leave that thing on year-round. So either just mount the damn plate like the law requires, or eat the occasional ticket (and maybe try to fight it with some double-stick tape).

I believe some EU countries and the UK allow you to put a sticker version of the plate on the front, no holes required. Not sure if that's better or worse in terms of aesthetics, though. Maybe if I had a Peak Porsche™ I would care more about holes in the front bumper cover.

 

[otc]

I believe some EU countries and the UK allow you to put a sticker version of the plate on the front, no holes required. Not sure if that's better or worse in terms of aesthetics, though. Maybe if I had a Peak Porsche™ I would care more about holes in the front bumper cover.

I've seen companies offering these same stickers in the USA...but yeah, I'm not sure they actually look better than a real plate:

Seems to depend a lot on the car (and the colors of the state plate) though. Some look better than others.

At least some states seem to have a wording in their law that implies you don't actually need a physical plate as it technically only specifies that the numbers must be displayed in the front.

I've thought about ordering from one of those companies to get something to put on the bike rack since it blocks the plate when folded up...but I don't know anyone who has had an actual problem with that here in MT, and a very high % of cars keep racks mounted year-round.

 

[sugarbutch]

I've seen companies offering these same stickers in the USA...but yeah, I'm not sure they actually look better than a real plate:

Seems to depend a lot on the car (and the colors of the state plate) though. Some look better than others.

At least some states seem to have a wording in their law that implies you don't actually need a physical plate as it technically only specifies that the numbers must be displayed in the front.

I've thought about ordering from one of those companies to get something to put on the bike rack since it blocks the plate when folded up...but I don't know anyone who has had an actual problem with that here in MT, and a very high % of cars keep racks mounted year-round.

As implied by the photo, California has a program to allow front stickers: https://www.motortrend.com/features/california-state-license-plate-wrap-sticker/

 

[nootje]

I believe some EU countries and the UK allow you to put a sticker version of the plate on the front, no holes required. Not sure if that's better or worse in terms of aesthetics, though. Maybe if I had a Peak Porsche™ I would care more about holes in the front bumper cover.

That’s just the UK. And part of the reason they have stickers is because regular old plates got stolen and used in other crimes, or so I’ve been told. The rest of Europe has the same size plates in different colors, which are mandatory mounted front and back.

And honestly, from my end of the pond it’s a going a bit far to risk back to back tickets for the aesthetic of one’s car. Even for Styfo.

 

[patrick_b]

After this conversation, I noticed that my front plate is gone. I can't imagine it falling off in normal driving conditions. Checked the EZ pass account to see if I've been paying tolls for someone else but there's nothing odd going on there.

Wonder how long I've been driving around like this? Ordered a new one from the state RMV and it takes up to 12 weeks. Printed out the receipt in the event I get pulled over.