MotorMad

Confused Over Current Style Number Plates?

Around three-quarters of us still don’t understand the new car registration plate system, according to a survey by Post Office car insurance. 27 per cent of those questioned, mistakenly thought that new numbers being introduced on 1 September 2005 would be 05 when they will actually be 55. A further 45 per cent did not know what the new numbers would be at all, while a quarter thought the two letters at the beginning of the plate referred to the area in which the driver lived. Some people even thought the two letters represented the driver's initials or the make of the vehicle. Women were more confused about the plates than men, with 81 per cent of females confused by the new format.

£4m Spent At Number Plate Auction

Desirable number plates went under the hammer for huge sums of money at an auction in Crewe. The DVLA auction at Crewe Hall saw hot bidding on a range of registration plates which will set vehicles apart from the rest. But the one which caused the biggest stir, attracting bids from across the country, was SCR 4P. A mystery buyer, believed to be a scrap dealer, paid £54,000 for the privilege of the number plate adorning his car while a boating enthusiast paid an undisclosed sum for 5 ROW.
Bidders with a penchant for designer clothes, bags and shoes by Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior had their purses and wallets at the ready when 30 LV and YSL 600 went under the hammer. And there was a flurry of activity among fitness fans when RUN 10K was offered for sale.
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Car Clone Victim Fined

A driver whose car number plate was cloned has been left with parking tickets amounting to nearly £6,000.
Saleem Sabbir, 21, insists the tickets issued by several London boroughs for parking illegally in places he's never even been to are not his. He has since been forced to declare his car off the road to save it being snatched by bailiffs who come knocking on his door to collect the fines. Mr Sabbir suspects the parking fines have been racked up by an illegal driver who has a similar car, using fake number plates. He has had to declare his car off the road so that bailiffs don’t take it.    

Fined For Displaying A St George Car Sticker

A motorist has been fined by police for displaying the St George cross on his front number plate, even though the Government has made it legal. The Mail on Sunday has reported how lifeguard Neil Prendergast had the patriotic sticker on his father’s Opel Corsa when he was pulled over by a policeman and given a £30 penalty for displaying a registration 'not fixed in accordance' with motoring laws.

New Plates4Less Website Launched

Get your private number plate for less through VRM Swansea’s latest website www.plates4less.co.uk

A new website launched this week promises to offer you the easiest and cheapest way for you to find and buy your own private number plate – the ultimate car accessory.
www.Plates4less.co.uk is the new website from VRM Swansea who has long been established in the cherished number plate market. The new website has a database of over 27 million affordable personalised number plates for you to search and order securely online. www.plates4less.co.uk  is easy to use and offers great ideas, suggestions and innovative ways to help you find your dream plate. The service doesn’t stop there, the friendly and experienced team of advisors will assist you through the entire process of finding and owning a private number plate, whether you’d like them to transfer it to your vehicle straight away, or hold it for the future.

Misuse of Spray-on Mud Designed for SUVs

Spray-on mud is being sold to give urban 4x4s a rural look. Targeting self-conscious SUV owners whose vehicles rarely see obstacles bigger than a speed bump, the enterprising British e-tailer behind Sprayonmud sells the countryside in a bottle. But, while the site promises SUV owners a route around social stigma flung by a growing anti-4x4 lobby, other motorists are thought to use the same technique to freely flout speed limits.

Unlucky Cabs Banned From Taxiing Students

Shanghai’s biggest taxi company has banned cabs with supposedly unlucky number plates from picking up students about to take exams. All cabs whose number plates end with the number four will not be used, announced Shanghai Dazhong Taxi Co Ltd. This is because the number shares the same pronunciation as failure in the Shanghai dialect. Sounds silly at first but think about it, how many of you would buy a personal numberplate containing "666"?

No hiding place?

More speed cameras are being introduced onto Britain’s road, but some problems have cropped up. The UK ANPR system is supposed to scan number plates and alert police if a car is stolen, hasn’t got a valid tax disc or MoT, or if the driver is uninsured. It is also supposed to check whether there is a warrant for the arrest of the driver.

Number Plate Crackdown in Oz

Police in Queensland, Australia are targeting vehicles with damaged or obscured car number plates as the number of speeding motorists escaping speed camera fines due to unreadable plates is increasing.

Lucky License Plates

Thailand's first auction of lucky personal number plates drew around a thousand bidders, with the highest bid - $95,200 - going for number 9999. The winner, said he was sure his purchase was worth it, because of the luck it would bring, and because he could sell it at a profit. "This is better than investing in the stock market," he told the auction, which was broadcast live on television.