DFitz

To All California car owners:

I'm still fairly new to the site, this may have been posted before, but think this bears repeating.

I'm sure many of you already know about this program, but CA may be starting a program that is essentially a new vanity license plate program. If they get enough participants, for a $50 fee, they are going to issue new custom plates, in the old Yellow, black or blue color plates!

You can apply for a number or saying on the plate. I've got 2 applications in for 2 cars. The catch is they need at least 7500 reservations to start the program by Jan 2015. Yeah that's a long way off, but if y'all have had your cars this long, that shouldn't really deter you. A 50's CA car really needs one of the old yellow plates, and you 442 guys, really need a black plate.

So, we need to maximize the number of participants to get this program started. Spread the word!

"Legislation introduced the California Legacy License Plate program offering vehicle owners the opportunity to purchase replicas of California license plates similar to those issued in the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's. The program requires a minimum of 7,500 pre-paid applications prior to January 1, 2015."

And the web site with the info:
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/legacyplates/index.htm

Happy Labor day!

joe_padavano

So this means that "black plate cars" will become meaningless. Sort of like the brand new OW trans tags sold on ebay.

Well, the new (to me) 62 wagon I just bought is a real black plate car.

Octania

So, I should have saved the black and yellow plates that were on my '68 when I got it?

Can I buy CA plates even though I don't live there?

svnt442

Not from the state. There was a place I saw in a magazine that you can buy any plate you want, but they are stamped aluminum, not steel and I think they were something like $130 a set or something like that.

DFitz

Well, no.

I think it lends a more authentic air to the era. I have a 74 Capri. I moved to Oklahoma for 1 year with the Air Force, and got Oklahoma plates. I regret that to this day. I still have the original blue CA plates, but the state won't let me put them back on. This program will enable me to apply for the original code. Essentially putting the original plates back on.

If you think that makes it meaningless, I disagree.

My 55 Holiday, has never been a CA car...well that's not quite right, I've had it here for 20 years, but not really on the road. It lived and grew up in MO. I've applied for a plate with the name my grandmother gave the car when she had it. It would be very cool to have an old yellow plate for the 55.

There are so few black plates out there I don't think this relatively small program would diminish the originals at all. My opinion.

nsnarsk65cutlass

They want the black plates gone ,they don't have the reflective quality the new plates do.Waiting to see what they(dmv) tell me about my 65 thats been out of the system unregistered here in ca since 1998 still has the black plates on it .My 68 station wagon has black plates currently registered.Getting new vanity or whatever you what to call it will not change anything i think you will be able to tell the difference numerically.

dantecl

If you have a car with black/blue/pink/polkadot whatever plate on it that was valid at some point but got into non-op, that's easy to fix. If registration was just "forgotten" and never paid for, then good luck.

nsnarsk65cutlass

Thats what i've heard,they hammer you and issue you current plates.

DFitz

I think right now, CA won't let you put on old plates. The exception is some black plates. So, the new legacy plate program looks pretty good to me.