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CA Black plates and Rep. Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles)

FordDude

Well-Known Dude
Staff member
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OK for once a politician did a good thing for us car dudes.

Click on the image

Click on the image

fd
 
I disagree. For us who have rigs with original black, yellow or blue plates, it was sacred. It made our rigs stand out. Now anyone can get them. For those who sell these plates on ebay, there goes the demand down the toy toy.
 
"cmayna" said:
I disagree. For us who have rigs with original black, yellow or blue plates, it was sacred. It made our rigs stand out. Now anyone can get them. For those who sell these plates on ebay, there goes the demand down the toy toy.

Cmayna.

I agree with you.
 
"cmayna" said:
I disagree. For us who have rigs with original black, yellow or blue plates, it was sacred. It made our rigs stand out. Now anyone can get them. For those who sell these plates on ebay, there goes the demand down the toy toy.

I agree with you too. No longer any value to black plates.
 
I think it is a good thing. We are able to purchase parts to make our cars look "original" why shouldn't we be able to do that with a plate too? What if one of your plates was missing or damaged beyond repair? Being able to get replacement plates would be invaluable to some. Personalized black and yellow plates in the 65 will look great in my mind!!!!
 
"cmayna" said:
I disagree. For us who have rigs with original black, yellow or blue plates, it was sacred. It made our rigs stand out. Now anyone can get them. For those who sell these plates on ebay, there goes the demand down the toy toy.

Agree
 
"SAC69" said:
"cmayna" said:
I disagree. For us who have rigs with original black, yellow or blue plates, it was sacred. It made our rigs stand out. Now anyone can get them. For those who sell these plates on ebay, there goes the demand down the toy toy.

Agree

+3
 
It remains to be seen how close to the originals the retro plates look. They have to conform to current plate regulations, ie: they need to be reflective, may have to have 7 characters, etc.

Looks like the yellow plate and blue plate options aren't going to make it, though. Nowhere near the required 7,500 pre-orders.

Also, as I pointed out a while ago, registration and renewal rates are actually lower for YOM plates vs. the new Legacy plates.
 
"crustycurmudgeon" said:
They have to conform to current plate regulations, ie: they need to be reflective, may have to have 7 characters, etc.

I understand the concern over the "California Black Plates". Why not take it a step further and ban repro parts?

Note: The following statement is not a direct quote from cmayma, it has been changed to make a point.

Posted by: cmayna
June 07, 2014, 02:04:40 PM
I disagree. For us who have rigs with original parts[nb]fenders, hoods, doors or whatever[/nb] , it was sacred. It made our rigs stand out. Now anyone can get them. For those who sell these parts on ebay, there goes the demand down the toy toy.

Not trying to pick on you Craig, or change your opinion. Just trying to show you and others that you do still have original parts, and those that know or care will be able to tell the difference.


Like today's repro parts they will be different from the original. Have not heard about the 7 characters, but the report did state the plates will need to be reflective.

fd
 
Like you Kali folks don't have anything "real" to worry about.........It's just a license plate.
 
"FordDude" said:
"crustycurmudgeon" said:
They have to conform to current plate regulations, ie: they need to be reflective, may have to have 7 characters, etc.

I understand the concern over the "California Black Plates". Why not take it a step further and ban repro parts?

Note: The following statement is not a direct quote from cmayma, it has been changed to make a point.

Posted by: cmayna
June 07, 2014, 02:04:40 PM
I disagree. For us who have rigs with original parts[nb]fenders, hoods, doors or whatever[/nb] , it was sacred. It made our rigs stand out. Now anyone can get them. For those who sell these parts on ebay, there goes the demand down the toy toy.

Not trying to pick on you Craig, or change your opinion. Just trying to show you and others that you do still have original parts, and those that know or care will be able to tell the difference.


Like today's repro parts they will be different from the original. Have not heard about the 7 characters, but the report did state the plates will need to be reflective.

fd

FD, black plates showed continuity of residence/ownership in CA and was cool by being the plates that came on the car 45, 50 etc years ago. We do value original parts vs repo's and the first plates to the car I'd thus consider original equipment and place a higher value on them vs the white or blue or reissued black plates, just as we place a higher value on a car that retains more of the original parts (sheetmetal, Boss engine, etc., assuming those parts are in good condition) than one made up of all OEM-style aftermarket parts.
 
So if you have a non reflective plate....that is an original Ca car....car types will know...the rest would not know the difference if pointed out for the most part. Does the new law restrict you from getting and using the original plates on the true Ca cars?
 
Pete,
If some original plates are not registered in the system to a car, you can apply to use to them with your rig.
 
"cmayna" said:
Pete,
If some original plates are not registered in the system to a car, you can apply to use to them with your rig.

So, do you approve of someone putting these older, non-registered plates on a car that they didn't originally come on?
 
So it appears that prior to this change, one could use a non registered plate on an originally registered Ca car that it was not assigned to if the original ones were lost. True of not?

So, now can one put a black and yellow plate on a 2014 car?
 
There are several overlapping programs that come into play here.

Putting all this into perspective, unlike a number of other states that issue new plates to all vehicles on the road during a given year, California has not done that (known as a "plate year") since 1963. Thus it is possible for an original 1963 car with original 1963 plates to still be considered part of the current series even though DMV ran out of Black with Yellow letter plates in 1969.

Second, with the exception of personalized/vanity plates and a few other minor exceptions, the DMV considers the plates assigned to the car, not the person who owns the car. Thus when a car is sold, the regular plates go with the car.

Third, if regular series plates are lost/destroyed/mutilated/stolen the DMV will issue a new set of current plates to replace the ones lost, etc. DMV will not re-issue a duplicate of a vintage regular series plate which was lost, etc.

Fourth, under the YOM (Year of Manufacture) program, a vintage set of plates from the same year of manufacture as the car which are legible and no longer in the system can be assigned to the vintage car even if that 1969 or older car first came to California as recently as today;

Fifth, Under this new program, as I understand it, DMV is apparently going to make replica plates that are Black with Yellow letters that are similar in appearance to the original 1963 series plates. It is not unreasonable to conclude that the letter series being replicated can't be the same sequence of an existing original Black and Yellow plate still in the system. Beyond that I would guess that the actual letter series would be assigned as if it were a personalized plate.

To state the obvious, Black and Yellow plates have become synonymous with "Original" California cars. The inference is that these cars have led charmed lives with smooth roads and no rust, and therefore are in better shape than a comparable car from the rust belt. Of course the core component in all of this is that many people will pay a premium for an original California car. Unfortunately, not all original California cars have led charmed lives and some exposed to things like salt air (Beach Cars) are often in as bad a shape as something from New Jersey.

Consider this, it is possible that a '65 Mustang from the rust belt came to California in 1969 and was issued the original series Black and Yellow plates when they were still available. At age 4, the car may already be a rust bucket from spending it's first 4 years in a harsh climate. Nevertheless, many modern buyers see the Black with Yellow plates and mistakenly assume original California car.

With the YOM program and this new program, it will be easier to create the appearance of California provenance when in fact the car was not sold new here.

If California originality matters, my caveat to anyone contemplating the purchase of a vintage plated vintage car is to check the documentation before accepting the idea that the car was originally sold new here. If the registration card from year 1 doesn't show that particular plate assigned to that particular car, plain and simple, that plate is not original. What that means in terms of value or provenance will be determined by further investigative efforts. Be diligent and you will be less likely stumble into ownership of something that is not what it appears to be.

What's the take-away from all of this? Sure it's cool to have vintage plates on a vintage car but at the end of the day, that shouldn't trump condition and originality of the car itself.
 
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