new California law will result in temp plates and get rid of the slip of paper in the window for new car purchases

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Monday requiring that newly purchased vehicles display temporary license plates.

The bill aimed to stop toll-road cheats and ensure law enforcement officers can identify vehicles on the road. California currently requires only a small notice of sale, which can't be read or photographed from a distance, to be displayed on a vehicle while the owner is waiting for permanent plates.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/New-law-will-require-temporary-license-plates-California-388173862.html

Drivers were cheating at toll plazas by driving through with no license plates or Fastrak units, so there was no way to make the drivers pay. Using data obtained from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the reports showed that uncollected tolls were resulting in more than ten million dollars in lost annual revenue for the state.

The old method of temp registration paperwork taped to the inside of the windshield also posed a public safety hazard according to police frustrated by cases where criminals were able to commit crimes and then get away from law enforcement officers with no license plate to track.

Anyone who buys a car from a new or used dealer in California will get their vehicle with a temporary paper license plate already put in place and linked to that specific vehicle. Each year, about 2 million new vehicles are purchased in California.

The new law is expected to take effect January 1, 2019.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/181512505-story

superstition got the best of him, and it cost him in time and money

the fruit delivery company owner paid the equivalent of $100,000 for the license plate with 88888 because the Chinese pronunciation sounds similar to saying the words "getting rich" when pronouncing the number 8.

This truck owner installed the plates June 26th, and the very next day, was rewarded with 8 police stopping him throughout the day because they all believed he had fake illegal license plates.

So, that plan back fired. Each police stop took up about 1/2 hour, and instead of getting work done, and profitting for the day, he spent 4 hours being interrogated by police that didn't believe that he was really so lucky to get this license plate. They even checked his vin and engine serial number... not a good start to a lifetime with these plates.

This has many superstitious Chinese going out of their way to add to their possible good luck by shifting things numerically to get more 8s in a price, or starting at a time with 8s in the time.

For example, the 2008 Olympics in Beijing began at 8:08 on the 8th day of the 8th month.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/peoplesdaily/article-3666081/Driver-splurges-100-000-fortunate-number-plate-truck-stopped-eight-times-one-day-police.html

thanks Steve!

1940s Illinois license plates were made of soybean fiberboard, then paperboard, due to wartime metal shortages

in 1943 the switch from metal to soybean fiberboard occurred to save metal for the war effort. They didn't switch back to metal until late 1948 or 1949

only dealer plates were made of steel according to https://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/special/plate_history/start_history.html
http://www.pl8s.com/platestand-illinois.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Illinois

"The plastic-bodied car quickly generated its share of jokes. People said that if the auto didn't run, Ford could eat it. Or he could have his car and eat it too. Farmers began to ask each other what they were growing this year, Fords or Chryslers. The Cleveland Press wondered why Ford didn't strengthen his plastic by adding spinach. In 1943 several of these jokes were dusted off when a goat actually ate an Illinois license plate made of soybean-derived fiberboard."  http://www.soyinfocenter.com/HSS/henry_ford_and_employees.php

truth in advertising

thanks B Remington!