The best stories behind your favorite vanity license plates

[Hagerty]

Vanity license plates and collector cars go together like LFTTRNS and NASCAR, 57CHVYS and RKNRLL, and RDTRPS and STNWGNS. So, when we recently asked the Hagerty Community to share the stories behind your personalized plates, you CARCRZY peeps did not DSAPPNT. Some of your stories made us smile, some made us tear up, and some made us think.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/hagerty-community/the-best-stories-behind-your-favorite-vanity-license...

[Utopia1]

I was at a car show a couple years back and saw a very clever Ontario vanity plate on an early 70's Lamborghini: "LIRAPIT"
No doubt!

[pauluptime]

Was going to post about LIRAPIT on that Espada, you beat me to it - Still one of my favourites!

Personally I've never found the need for vanity plates on any of my vehicles, plus here in Ontario, until recently a historic plate was $18/yr vs. $120/yr for regular or vanity plate renewals, giving me effectively $100 in free gas to spend, every year for the past 23 years LOL.

[The_Major]

I managed to smoke “REMF” past the motor vehicle branch in the days before computer checks.
It is on a ‘Nam vintage military vehicle, and officially stands for REserve Military Forces.
Most Veterans will tell you otherwise?

[PSuomela]

My ‘78 Corvette Pace Car has the plate reading “78 PACE”.
Every time I’d take my car to a Corvette event, the other Minnesota Pace Car owners with other vanity plates would say to me, “So you’re the guy…” 😆

[motorsledge]

www.theepochtimes.com/objectionable-alabama-license-plate-is-now-okay_4329518.html

[bblhed]

I have seen "FUN 42" on a BMW M3, and "TOP LES" on a 4 seat convertible, I have a Miata and wanted both of those.

[joetunick]

This isn’t about a real vanity plate but just the thought of one. My daughter, wife, her parents, and some friends were walking into town to get dinner and passed a parked ‘Vette with a vanity plate that took a little deciphering to figure out due to being abbreviated to fit on the plate. So, we started to brainstorm on what we could fit on a plate. We chose my father-in-law’s ’69 Camaro as the subject car as he and his wife cruise around in it often. My wife suggested that we try to fit “Bitchin’ Camaro” into the 8 characters allowed on a NY plate. My daughter (13 at the time) immediately squealed in horror “WHAT ARE YOU SAYING ABOUT GRANDMA?!?!!” as she thought my wife said “**bleep** in Camaro” rather than the phrase made popular by the song by the Dead Milkmen…

[Gary_Bechtold]

I had Turbo I6 on my Supra Turbo when I lived in Illinois. I have not tried that in Texas.

I loved the band King's X and had a plate KINGSX8 for awhile prior to the Supra on a '97 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX. People thought the GSX in KINGSX was about the car and were not sure about the KIN part. King GSX? LoL.

[dooscoop32]

Our veterinarian is a graduate of the University of Georgia (the Bulldogs) so her vanity plate says;

DAWG DVM

That's sort of a double meaning if you think about it!

[buellerdan]

GR8 RTCL

[wrgcfords]

I purchased a Porshe 944 from a storage unit auction several years ago. At the close of the auction the auction house charged the Vermont sales tax on the vehicle purchase. At the DMV I brought this up while registering the vehicle since I did not want to pay double sales tax. After several phone calls and some time the gentleman behind the counter issued the registration and assured me the tax was all set. I heard some plates rattling around behind the counter and walked out with my new registration plates. He had set me up with HHX 944, right off the shelf, a number the car wears to this day.

[CliffRamsdell]

In 1981 I bought a 1968 Dodge Dart GTS and in 1982 I applied for as got a vanity plate “68-GTS” I had the car till 1997 and with some regrets sold it.

Fast forward to May of 2020 and with the pandemic coming on strong my son found and bought back my 1968 GTS and gave it back to me for Father’s Day. I applied to the state and got a new vanity plate “68-GTS”

It’s just like being 21 years old again.

Cliff Ramsdell

[hyperv6]

I had Fiero3 on my Fiero for a while. People asked what the three was. Earnhardt since the car was black. No 1 and 2 were gone already.

I had Awesom as a plate on my Chevelle with the tunnel ram. That was in the 80's back when everything was Awesome for sure.

I had Hyper V6 on the Fiero too. It was not a monster power engine but it was a bit hyper. Later I used it for a web name.

The state jacked up the price on the plates and I got my historical plates that you pay once for 50 years. I took the Historics.

I do have a POVA MFG plate from Italy I stick on the car just for fun at show.

[ThePorscheMan]

When personalized plates first came to Ontario they had to be three letters and three numbers so I got...

IAM 469.

You figure it out.

[ThePorscheMan]

Oh yeah, and I used to see an old Chebbie pick-up in the Keswick area with the plate

CNT B49

which, I'm sure means - Can't before nine but...

[DUB6]

IAM 2.

[tattarat]

"Dookie" earned his nickname due to the color combination looking like something right out of a baby diaper.  A lot of young ladies in mini vans got a kick out of this one!

[bjburnout]

During our working years my wife would always say I'm going to make a quick exit.
When she retired we bought a new 2005 Red Dodge Magnum SXT and my son and I got her a special plate:
QIK XIT
happy motoring everyone
bj

[MadMac]

Thank you for giving THE UNZ Internet immortality
in spite of not providing a photograph of my Saab Sonett.

[DavidHolzman]

One of my favorites is a Maine plate, TITSOUT. Here's the story:

https://theintercept.com/2021/07/04/milf-mobile-maine-free-speech/

[Wlycyote]

I have WLYCYOTE on a Vette for chasing down roadrunners and LEDZPLIN on a black on black on black Fiesta ST. Nobody ever asks "What does that mean?" I used to have MONYPIT on an older Vette - self-explanatory.

[DUB6]

Yeah, 'cept ol' Wylie never actually caught any RoadRunners, did he?

[SilentBoy741]

Once. I remember the toon from along time ago, Silent Wile E. caught RR and held up a sign, something like "Well, you always wanted me to... NOW WHAT!?"

[JimDandy83]

Jel395 may need a new live girlfriend with a slightly broader grasp on French. AU VOIR is indeed an abbreviation of the French word for goodbye. Au revoir literally means "to" or "towards" and a "re-seeing" or "seeing again". Much like in song, "until we meet again." "Voir" is the root word for "to see". 'AU VOIR" could also be translated as "to be seen" or even (and more loosely) as "You've got to see it!"

[DUB6]

I bought my ex-wife the plates ALWAYS for her car, telling her, "that's how long I'll love you".  Some guy pulled up next to her at a light once, and said, "Always, huh?  How about now?"  Gotta be careful what message you are sending!

[oh, by-the-way, the plate message only worked one way - didn't go the other direction 😀]

[Zephyr]

At a car show I saw a BMW painted in a terrible shade of brown, with the licence plate FECAL THUNDER.

[JGeske]

Not my story, but my mother's story. Full disclaimer, my mother has a dirty sense of humor. In 2007 she bought a new Pontiac Vibe. She applied for and got a plate with "R8TOR", so that her car was the Vibe R8TOR. Got a lot of laughs out of that one.

[DUB6]

I hope I'm not being out of line by saying, "Your Mom is my kinda gal!"

[PRScott]

I remember in the late 70's a fellow in Burlington Ontario with a Delorean plated COKE 1. I hope he still has it!

[DUB6]

Oh my.  🙄

[KS]

I have a 1979 Black & Gold Trans Am, I was driving down 95 South in CT and saw a vanity plate with MYTIME a perfect vanity plate for my car if I must say so myself. After going on the registry in MA the I found out the plate was taken, so thinking since my son is attending culinary school I came up with MYTYME and it's been on the car ever since.

[rmc5m]

Bought a 90 T-bird SC off the showroom floor and got the license plate SPRCPE right after that. Got to keep it when I got the antique plates a few years back.

[Edwardsg]

In high school, I had plates on my 1967 Z/28 that said “Z FIRST”.
It was an interesting car to own - most thought 1969 was the first year.
The car had a trailer hitch on it. About a decade later, having tracked down the original owner, was able to fill in some blanks on the history of the car. He raced it as a Trans Am car, and got a picture of it in 1969 in his driveway. Loaded on a trailer was his 1969 car, with 4 wheel discs and 2 4’s. Then he pulled out the Donnybrook newsletter from the fall of 1969. And here was my car, going under the bridge at speed. Then he explained how he kept the papers current as the 1969 was hard to keep running right.

[Jr1]

I read many years ago about a man who was married to a woman named Pat. He owned a Corvette and didn't want anyone, especially his wife, to drive his car. He had vanity plates assigned that said FAT PAT. She wouldn't drive it.

[DUB6]

I don't know about your "Mr. Pat" guy, but in my house that wouldn't stop my wife from driving it - - - right over me...

[1974Chevelle454]

In NY, I tried to get "74 CHEVL" but someone has it. So I went with "CHEVL 74"

You would be surprised how many people say "nice car, what year is it?" LOL.

[oldmustangs49]

Several years ago I bought my wife, Sue, a 93 Mustang Convertible for our anniversary. In addition, the plates I got for her were "SUZPONY". I still have the plates but I'm not using them. Right now, the Plates on my crewcab are "ERPTECH", which stands for Eddyville Raceway Park Tech. I was a Technical Inspector there for about 10 years. They also are my college colors.

[janedon]

I've had Old cars but never a vanity plate-It always bugged me when I've had to ask what a plate meant-- On the other hand-- a lot of them were pretty clever--

[RobIanuario]

I've got a buddy that is into guns, hunting, and random automotive endeavors. His plate was KYLNSHT (killin sh*t) for years . . .until the DMV figured it out.

[HotRodGTO]

Beautiful Malibu, but the fake "RECYCLED" plate should not be on the list. The plate isn't real and has too many letters to be legal in California (7-letter limit). The challenge is the limit.

[DUB6]

It's not about the legality of the plate - it's about the story!  The RECYCLED story is pretty doggone good.

[Maestro1]

I have my Grandfather's License Number from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with
my Initials as the first three letters. Not very sexy nor original, but it is sentimental.

[937602]

I DRIVE LINCOLNS, MY LAST NAME IS LINK, MY PLATE READS LINKOLN THANKS, PAUL

[VistaSkinnyMan]

In California - FAWAWE a Ferrari of course.

[TheMartian]

My urologist had the plate IC2itUP.

[Roundfender]

Wiscasset, Maine gas station around 2018. Older pickup truck rolls into a gas station and a 30-something dude in blue jeans hops out and heads inside. License plate: CMYX4BJ. I asked him whether Augusta really issued that plate and with a big smile he said "Yes'sir!"

[Wayne_G]

A local dentist has a vanity plate on his Corvettte that is 23PAIR. Say it out loud and you'll get it.

[JGeske]

That is awesome!

[DUB6]

Not to me - I'm only 17 1/2 pair...  

[BillWill]

I have had a 1986 Jag XJ6 for 31 years and when I first got it I asked for custom plate JAG86 but it was gone.  I ended up with 8T6JAG which works. It’s amazing how many people look at the car and can plainly see the plate but still ask me the year of the car.