Vanity number plates have been a thing in the US since 1965 when states started allowing drivers to use numbers and letters to customize their plates, and this was even adopted in some other parts of the world. A customized plate creates a feeling of uniqueness to one’s identity. (Isn’t it cool when your car pops out from the horizon and everybody just knows it’s you? Yeah, it’s so cool.)
A vanity plate cannot be duplicated, as it serves as the car’s registration. Therefore, whoever wants a particular customized plate must register it before anyone else does. Here, we look at 10 clever vanity plates we wish we had thought of.
10 Timeless
“Timeless” is a really perfect vanity plate for any car that has survived through the years. Although, so many other cars fit perfectly and deserve this vanity plate, but it would apparently have been very inappropriate to have assigned it to them when they were newly bought.
Here we have a DeLorean; they were made in the year 1981 by the American Engineer John DeLorean. John had high expectations for his Car Company, but the poor performance of the car and massive public scrutiny led to the company’s eventual shutdown. However, this DeLorean has stood the test of time and deserves this timely plate.
9 Not Bond
In 2006, James Bond, the popular movie fictional character who is also known for featuring various fast cars in his movies, featured the Aston Martin DBS in the movie “Casino Royale”. The movie brought added glamor and popularity to the DBS, thereby achieving a “celebrity” status among cars.
Realizing that both “Bond” and “James Bond” vanity plates would obviously have been reserved and taken by the Bond Team, the next best vanity plate to these is “NOT BOND”. It’s like a disclaimer; like saying “Yes I’m driving Mr. Bond’s car, but I’m not Mr. Bond.
8 Poverty
Lamborghinis are fast and expensive luxury cars owned by the Volkswagen group. These cars were made to compete with established luxury cars such as the Ferrari. Though born out of rivalry. This started when Ferruccio Lamborghini saw some imperfections about Ferrari and decided to point them out to Enzo Ferrari, the owner of the Ferrari brand. Ferrari turned him down, believing a young “tractor mechanic” knows nothing about perfection. The Lamborghini has done quite well in the sphere of Luxury cars.
The Huracan is probably the cheapest Lamborghini right now, and it is valued at about $200,000—it’s definitely not for the poor. Putting a “Poverty” vanity plate on a luxury car is a cheeky and clever way of announcing your presence because you’re definitely not poor.
7 Oh I Fit
Microcars have smaller leg room, smaller sitting space, smaller luggage space and relatively slower speed among other features when compared to regular cars. However, they can be incredibly efficient and handy in some difficult situations; probably why they were made anyway.
This is a Smart Fortwo Micro Car—named “Fortwo” because it can only seat two persons—with dimensions 2,695 mm L x 1,663 mm W x 1,555 mm H, making it one of the smallest cars in the world. The Smart Fortwo could face all the challenges in the world but because of its size, finding a place to park won’t be one; it literally fits anywhere.
6 Success
Humans naturally strive for success at anything we do. We hope for success in our exams, careers, business, relationships, and every other endeavor we find ourselves. Although success in itself can often be relative or personal, it’s an obvious milestone when we eventually achieve it.
Having money is often equated to success—although some will beg to differ—irrespective of how the money is made at times. Another thing people often do after they make money is to buy a car. Therefore, buying a car is a "success" move; hence the vanity plate.
5 I'm Stig
What better way to customize your plate if not with your name? Actually, most people often approach the vanity plate adventure this way, which makes it really difficult for others to get their actual names as it's issued on a “first to come, first to be served” basis. In this case, Stig’s name was obviously not available, hence he got really creative and added an “I’m” has a prefix.
This clever move has also gotten popular with vanity plate lovers as it avails them a second chance of using their actual name albeit in a more creative way.
4 Hi Debt
Hi, debt—because it’s a Ferrari (lol). In 1939, when Enzo Ferrari started off his car company, he obviously only had the super-rich in mind. The company has stayed true to this even till present times and even achieved the great feat of building and selling the world’s most expensive car—The Iconic 1963 250 GTO in 2018.
Auto loans are quite popular among Americans. In 2017 alone, Forbes reported a total amount of $1.129 trillion was taken as auto loans by Americans from all lenders; these figures make this vanity plate cheeky but appropriate.
3 Oil Haha
Let me introduce you to Tesla Inc (just in case you’re an alien reading this from an unknown planet). The company was established in 2003 and specializes in manufacturing both electric cars and solar panels. The electric cars are seen to be the future of automobile as they are propelled by electric motors which are powered by rechargeable batteries. This is a massive upgrade to the combustion engines in cars because they don’t require the burning of hydrocarbons to generate power, hence why they are said to be eco-friendly.
Tesla cars are powered by batteries; they don’t need gas. This vanity plate is a diss at people who still need gas to power their cars.
2 Rubix
The Nissan Cube is a Mini Multi-Purpose Vehicle that was first sold in Japan in 1998, the second generation of the car was released in 2002 while the third and last generation—till present day—was first sold in 2008. It’s apparently shaped like a cube, hence the name Nissan Cube and it has a wide interior for a larger and more comfortable sitting and luggage space.
Rubik’s cube—some spell it as Rubix cube—is a popular 3D combination puzzle that is shaped like a cube. Nissan naming its car a cube makes this vanity plate too tempting to be ignored.
1 Kidless
A newly wedded couple will need a thing or two to comfortably start their married life. Most will rent or buy bigger apartments, bigger cars, and other personal effects they deem necessary, but a two-seater coupe won’t be on the car shopping list of a couple expecting kids.
Ideally, what is required for convenient commuting for a couple expecting kids is a family car—Hatchbacks, Sedans, etc. These cars provide enough sitting space, leg space, and also provide so much comfort for the kids, unlike a two-seater coupe that can’t even seat any kid.