I have asked before on other sites about the significance of black plates in California and never got a satisfactory answer. The answer I got before boiled down to it is black because it is black. Is it a permanent plate that needs not be updated? Is it for older vehicles such as out Antique plates. Please enlighten me.
well, dang, I'd have answered your question earlier! Faster! Better! Ok, here's the history... as with most state license plates, there was a lot of evolution, and the first were leather with metal numbers riveted on, then metal with porcelain baked on, then just stamped plates like we are used to... starting in about the 20s. So, each state had a color scheme so at a distance, you instantly knew that the plate was from your state, or was an out of state car. Then, after using up all the combos of letters and numbers in a 3 pairs of 2, for a total of 6 letters and numbers on a plate, they realized that they could stick to the same size plate, and start over with the numbers and letters concept, it they would just change the colors. In California, in the 50s, the colors were yellow background, and black letters... then they used up all the possible combos, so they flipped the colors, and the 1960s were black background and yellow letters for the most muscle car era.... my 1969 Dodge is ZUM 838, so that yellow letter on black background lasted to nearly the middle of 1969. Then, some one got the idea of blue as the sea background, and yellow as the sun letters, and that was the 1970s plates. Skipping all the stuff since, about 3 decades ago, all the variations in license plates made the states lots of extra money, and there was the new method of some photo or painting in the background, like the whale tail California plate... etc etc, and all the vanity plates, and someone realized that going retro was a new way to make more money, and California needed no permissions to go back to the 1960s theme, of black background and yellow lettering. That got off to a slow beginning, but has had a big result, and a LOT of Californians are using that. Frankly, it's a mark of pride for hot rodders and muscle car enthusiasts to get a car with the original plates, it shows that the car wasn't hrosetraded around, never moved out of it's original state much, and wasn't stuck in some lame places where the rust would happen. An original plate is pretty damn cool. But past answering your question, the newest nonsense? Digital plates? Flat black plates with white letters, that are not raised with a press? Ugly.
I have asked before on other sites about the significance of black plates in California and never got a satisfactory answer. The answer I got before boiled down to it is black because it is black. Is it a permanent plate that needs not be updated? Is it for older vehicles such as out Antique plates. Please enlighten me.
ReplyDeletewell, dang, I'd have answered your question earlier! Faster! Better!
DeleteOk, here's the history... as with most state license plates, there was a lot of evolution, and the first were leather with metal numbers riveted on, then metal with porcelain baked on, then just stamped plates like we are used to... starting in about the 20s. So, each state had a color scheme so at a distance, you instantly knew that the plate was from your state, or was an out of state car.
Then, after using up all the combos of letters and numbers in a 3 pairs of 2, for a total of 6 letters and numbers on a plate, they realized that they could stick to the same size plate, and start over with the numbers and letters concept, it they would just change the colors.
In California, in the 50s, the colors were yellow background, and black letters... then they used up all the possible combos, so they flipped the colors, and the 1960s were black background and yellow letters for the most muscle car era.... my 1969 Dodge is ZUM 838, so that yellow letter on black background lasted to nearly the middle of 1969.
Then, some one got the idea of blue as the sea background, and yellow as the sun letters, and that was the 1970s plates.
Skipping all the stuff since, about 3 decades ago, all the variations in license plates made the states lots of extra money, and there was the new method of some photo or painting in the background, like the whale tail California plate... etc etc, and all the vanity plates, and someone realized that going retro was a new way to make more money, and California needed no permissions to go back to the 1960s theme, of black background and yellow lettering.
That got off to a slow beginning, but has had a big result, and a LOT of Californians are using that.
Frankly, it's a mark of pride for hot rodders and muscle car enthusiasts to get a car with the original plates, it shows that the car wasn't hrosetraded around, never moved out of it's original state much, and wasn't stuck in some lame places where the rust would happen.
An original plate is pretty damn cool.
But past answering your question, the newest nonsense? Digital plates? Flat black plates with white letters, that are not raised with a press? Ugly.