Posted: 4/2/2007 1:26:39 PM EDT
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This probably isn't news to everyone, but if you renew your plate and have a blue plate, they supposedly mail you a new white plate with the teal sticker. Apparently police officers feel the blue plates with white reflective lettering are too hard to read at night, and our state is abusing our money to force us to use new plates. I've seen this bullshit happen before in another state (New Jersey) and can predict that MI will eventually adopt a front license plate and mandate emissions/safety inspection in the near future... all in the name of "saving the children". NJ used to use a blue plate (just like MI) back in the late 70s/early 80s up until the mid 90s when they switched to an all-reflective bright white/yellow plate because it was more visible to LEOs. I also remember when you could walk into a K-Mart in NJ and buy a shotgun or rifle and rifle ammo (just like MI today). Today, employees at Wal-Marts in NJ will give you an EVIL stare-down if you ask about GUN CLEANING products (like Break Free CLP). I suspect MI will eventually become the same in 10-15 years if it continues down this path of liberals making the decision. 
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That's funny. I find that the blue plates are far easier to read at night than the new ones w/ the poor contrast and optional graphics. We are getting new plates because the blue ones have been around for 25 years. Prior to that we used to get new colors every 4 years or so. |
Never get old, Die young!!!
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Aluminum corrosion is simply white aluminum oxide, not an orange Iron-oxide rust color. I suspect the older plates were made of a steel alloy because I have seen the blue plates rust on the surface (which doesn't make any sense). The 27 year old NJ plate (NJ blue plate, a lighter blue than the MI blue plate) I had was dented to shit, but was completely rust-free. |
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No, its not. You cant have another states plates on your car if they are not valid.
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Michigan must be the only state you can put the correct plate on the back and any state's plate on the front. (is that legal?)|
Funny. I just got around to doing my online renewal and if I was given the option I'd probably have gone ahead with the college plate. Why I'd give my alma-mater more money, I don't have a great answer for :D Unfortunately that's not an option (and neither is the US flag version), so I'm stuck with the revision. FWIW I have a couple old '79 plates around, the black and white pre-tag version. Whatever... |
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MI License Plates NJ License Plates Wow, I didn't realize NJ did away with the plate tabs! That's actually a very good idea. Those reflective stickers never lasted very long and would sometimes peel off if you didn't prep the surface properly. |
| From what I understand there is a bit more to just the police having a hard time reading the old plates. I thought that the process of making the old blue plates were more expensive than the new ones. Not sure what the break even point is (probably a long ways off) but if that's the case won't the transition pay itself back. That is IF they are truly cheaper to produce. |
Hell, I remember when I had to get emissions test on my vehicle in Wayne County before I could get my new tabs.... ANt |
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You will start to see more and more of them (not tons by any means...) In MI cars can be registered as antiques when they are either 25 or 30 years old (I cant recall which, you can also own for private home use slot machines where are over 25 years old (want one?? PM me) When the car is an antique in MI you are able to plate it with plates from the year it was made (not sure if they have to be the orig. plates or how that part of it works) BUT if you have a car from 76 and register it as an antique you can have those plates as well |
no need to be original plates, and old(old, like, 50's and older) plates can be any color combo as well |
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I really like not having a front plate. They look like crap and they really do provide a nice reflective area for lidar to work on. MI's Veteran plates are weak though. They don't have any kind of GWOT plate and they are just plain. You can't get a Vet plate for your motorcycle either, what crap! |
Agreed. They have Cuban Missile Crisis and Kosovo Campaign, but not Operation Iraqi Freedom of Operation Enduring Freedom... WTF? 
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There's only one place in the US (that I know of) that insures the antique cars (Haggerty?) and its the same policy apparently for MI and NJ: In order for the car to be an antique, it has to be at least 20 years old and in fully restored condition. There's an annual mileage limit as well. I checked into this in NJ because I have a 20+ year old car that wasn't about to pass NJ emissions/safety and I didn't have any money to buy a new car. The new MI plates seem to glare very easily at night when headlights illuminate the plate. I had trouble reading the plate numbers on the new plates because of this glare. However, the old blue plates were totally legible because the white reflective letters on a dark background had more than enough contrast. The letters practically light up at night with the slightest amount of light. I read that the MI blue plates did not meet Federal requirements for reflective plates, so we all have to get the new plate I really liked the blue MI plates regardless of how old the design was. 
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I liked the old blue ones as well!. How would you like to live in FLorida, the land of 101 types of plates!. I am originally from NY and still call it the "DMW" not Secretary of state. We should do what england does, the plate stays with the car for life. new paper work, title etc is sent to you...talk about a cost saver!. I refuse to get "Vanity " or custom plates. What we are charged for on an annual basis for regestration fees is insane!. Hell with the profits the oil companies are making they should pick up the tab...or pay for our roads to be as good as the autoban. Sorry I am just too out spoken for my own good, oh, I stepped out of line, I need to get back with the rest of the sheep. A friend of mine once asked me, why do you have so many guns?...my reply was "why don't you have any?. Why do I have an addiction toward green ammo cans?...there like duct tape...1000'ds of uses. I wanted to give one to my son as a lunch box, hell it would make a great ladies hand bag, they can hold alot of lego, crayons, match box cars, nuts, screws, and of course keep my brass projectiles in a neat and orderly fashion. |
There are a few more they just don't advertise, AAA, Nationwide, State Farm, Classic Car Insurance. The Hagerty is a good choice. They don't need the car to be fully restored, they insure it for an agreed value if its totalled they pay you that $$ value. They do not put a 3000 mile limit on it per year and only allow non-daily driving, shows, beach, ice cream, etc. They have super cheap rates though. In michigan we also have State license plates if you'd like to get them for classic cars and these lower insurance rates even more as they have more restrictions such as who drives, no one under 25 etc. Hagerty is a good choice I just switched to them from State Farm for my '64 Pontiac, Saved me a ton of money and now it has full coverage whereas before it was only PL/PD. (She ain't perfect) |
Grundy is another, and a good choice....., no mileage limit |
For as broke as Jenny is kepping us, you know this will be coming. |