By Elayne Matthews

As I view the road when driving long distances nowadays, I tend to notice the increase of vanity plates.  What was once a rare sight on a long trip is now a common view around town.  Who purchases a vanity plate and why?  And are they as cleaver as early plates we occasionally saw on the road or a poor copy of someone else’s idea that we wished we had thought of first?

Americans love the new car purchase.  There was a time, in the area I grew up; people bought a new car every two to four years.  You would see the neighbor role up in the latest model and color, and we would happily walk over and listen while the new car purchaser would show, in colorful detail, the decision of the interior style and color, the exterior color, and extras chosen when the order was placed.  We always had purchased used cars in our family, until one day in the 1970’s we made the trip to the dealership.  I remember our father letting my younger brother, mom, and myself have a say in the color of the exterior and interior of the first new car we were purchasing.  It was a Pontiac Catalina and I remember choosing the powder blue exterior and matching interior over the silver exterior and red interior choice my father presented to us.  The vote was 3 to 1 in favor of the blue.  Dad lost out on his silver and red.  When I look back on this special event in our family, it still surprises me that our father let us have so much of a voice in such a momentous purchase for him.  I remember watching the order being written up detailing every choice, making the car unique to us and specially built to our specifications.  The silver and red would have been the better choice.

Today there is no special order written up for the purchaser.  Cars are already built with exterior and interior colors chosen and extras added or deleted in packages built into the price.  The best a new car buyer can do is list the choices and hope the dealer can search out as many on the list through other dealerships.  There is no longer that special moment of placing your order with your specifications and getting that feeling a car was being built just for you.  Hence, the vanity plate!  Whether you can afford that new car in a fleet of other identical models in the dealership’s lot, or are purchasing an older model; the vanity plate allows that feeling of individuality.  There is no other car like yours with a vanity plate.  Americans like to make a statement in what they drive, whether it’s new or old.  Individuality is a personal desire, and if it can no longer be made with an order form on a new car or the purchase of an older model, it can be made with a vanity plate.  I find that some individuals are a bit more cleaver in their plates than others.  Some have taken great care to express something of them, while others are trying to be cute or funny.  Some are just plain hard to figure out and must mean something only to the owner.

To this day, I do not own a vanity plate.  I refuse to give the government any extra money in my plate renewal.  My plate is the standard solid color issued with the number next in line when first received at the Secretary of State.  I see the many choices of organizations, colleges, and the state designs displayed for my purchasing pleasure; but I can’t seem to hand over that extra money, let alone the cost of making that plate a vanity plate also.  I guess I don’t want my individuality made public.  Do you have a vanity plate on your vehicle?  If so, what made you decide to make that added purchase?  We at carcarebuzz.com would like you to share your thoughts on the subject.

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