urbanSTL

bsharmastl wrote:DIGITAL PLATES.........

Interesting. How about RFID-equipped license plates? Britain and Malaysia have implemented and it's supposed to help stop car theft as well. http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/11/rfid ... aysia-too/

I would like to see something cleaner. It seems like it would more likely appease the center and west side of the state as well. KC people wouldn't want to see the Mississippi, Missouri, a cardinal or the Arch on their plate. And what's with the Miss Uri one? Is that a sun? An orange?



Has anyone figured out how to suggest an option other than the 3 listed to the Secretary of State?

stellar- Apparently, there are public meetings scheduled in the next few weeks to unveil the three final choices for the new plate design. Locally, there's a meeting on March 2 at the Highway Patrol headquarters (Highway 40 @ Mason Road).



Or, I suppose you could do what I'm doing and choose an easier option:



mvbmail@dor.mo.gov



This is the general email address for motor vehicle licensing questions, so I'm sure if they cannot help, they'll forward suggestions on to the appropriate people.



EDITED: The link I posted to the state DMV website didn't work. Typical Missouri, I suppose.

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:

stellar wrote:KC people wouldn't want to see the Mississippi, Missouri, a cardinal or the Arch on their plate.

Did we flunk geography?

I guess I should have. To be fair we never studied Missouri rivers in Michigan and I've never been to Kansas City. I was in Overland Park once for a night! I didn't realize the Missouri bisected the State the way it does. I always imagined it coming in more from the north.

stellar wrote:

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:

stellar wrote:KC people wouldn't want to see the Mississippi, Missouri, a cardinal or the Arch on their plate.

Did we flunk geography?

I guess I should have. To be fair we never studied Missouri rivers in Michigan and I've never been to Kansas City. I was in Overland Park once for a night! I didn't realize the Missouri bisected the State the way it does. I always imagined it coming in more from the north.

Misplaced rivers aside, you're right about the need for a license plate that doesn't favor one region of the state over the other. I'm sure that was the rationale behind the current license plates (first released in 1997) and the ones proposed for distribution in 2009 and 2010. While I like the concept of paying homage to our great rivers, I still prefer the look of the Missouri Division of Tourism's logo if the DMV insists on using a graphic design for the state name.



BTW, for those of you that enjoy stuffing online ballot boxes, it looks like you can vote for your favorite Missouri plate design on the DMV website as many times as you wish.

Europeans have it right- white plate, black numbers and letters.

Well said =D>

How about a guy with a msu sweatshirt ,eating BBQ, with a bud in his hand,sitting on a riverboat with a view of Cape in the background?



DID I HIT the ENTIRE STATE ?? .. I'm sure I missed some cow town!

Mark Wegmann wrote:How about a guy with a msu sweatshirt ,eating BBQ, with a bud in his hand,sitting on a riverboat with a view of Cape in the background?



DID I HIT the ENTIRE STATE ?? .. I'm sure I missed some cow town!

Well, at the risk of offending north-central and southwestern Missourians, I'd say a river motif would be best. That does appeal culturally not only to KC and StL, but also to all of the towns in between along I70, and to all the towns along the Mississippi. By population alone, those counties must be about 80% of the state.



EDIT: When I say a river motif I mean a simple, stylized river, perhaps as the two Ss in Missouri, or something like that. Absolutely NO steamboats or paddle-wheels!



EDIT2: While we're at it, can we get rid of the steamboat on the St. Louis City seal? Whose bright idea was this? Wouldn't the Arch and the statue of Saint Louis be better, maybe with a fleur-de-lis, too?

While we're at it, can we get rid of the steamboat on the St. Louis City seal? Whose bright idea was this? Wouldn't the Arch and the statue of Saint Louis be better, maybe with a fleur-de-lis, too?

Totally disagree. I am a huge fan of St. Louis' seal.

Mark Wegmann wrote:How about a guy with a msu sweatshirt ,eating BBQ, with a bud in his hand,sitting on a riverboat with a view of Cape in the background? DID I HIT the ENTIRE STATE ?? .. I'm sure I missed some cow town!

Funny, that reminds me of Texas. There's a space shuttle, oil wells, Hill Country, a state map outline, and a cowboy on a horse on their standard plates. A bit too busy for my taste. I guess there's no room for George W. Bush and J.R. Ewing.

Tysalpha wrote:By population alone, those counties (along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers) must be about 80% of the state.



EDIT: When I say a river motif I mean a simple, stylized river, perhaps as the two Ss in Missouri, or something like that. Absolutely NO steamboats or paddle-wheels!

That's why I think the river-themed license plates are appropriate. The MO Department of Tourism logo is my favorite choice to reflect this even though it's not one of the final choices. The ribbon plate is okay, but given a choice between that or the existing plate, I'd rather keep the current plates.



I just got around to reading the P-D article about the plate change. Supposedly the change is being made to improve visibility, weed out illegal registrations, and reduce tab theft. The Highway Patrol had a hand in choosing the final designs based on visibility, and supposedly color coding will reduce tab theft.



If that's the case, then why do we need new plates at all? I think our plates are easily visible- I have less than perfect vision and no problems spotting Missouri plates from a distance. Month and year tabs are already color-coded, so how will that reduce tab theft? Moving the stickers to the middle helps to a degree. Plus, I have heard that the DMV will start printing stickers in each office that will have matching renewal tab and license plate numbers. I don't care nearly enough to start a petition to save our current plates, but it does make me wonder why we can't just phase out the oldest plates (which many states do) instead of choosing one of these bland redesigned plates.

JCity wrote:

While we're at it, can we get rid of the steamboat on the St. Louis City seal? Whose bright idea was this? Wouldn't the Arch and the statue of Saint Louis be better, maybe with a fleur-de-lis, too?

Totally disagree. I am a huge fan of St. Louis' seal.

Me too. I absolutely love the City Seal, and I think it's one of the coolest in the country.

JivecitySTL wrote:

JCity wrote:

While we're at it, can we get rid of the steamboat on the St. Louis City seal? Whose bright idea was this? Wouldn't the Arch and the statue of Saint Louis be better, maybe with a fleur-de-lis, too?

Totally disagree. I am a huge fan of St. Louis' seal.

Me too. I absolutely love the City Seal, and I think it's one of the coolest in the country.

Hmm. Ok, if you guys like it. I'd prefer it to be a more timeless design -- the solo steamboat really places it in the late 1800s and to me it lends evidence to the claim that St. Louis is "a city stuck in the romantic past of its heyday."

There's nothing wrong with being nostalgic about our heyday. It was really an incredible heyday, and the seal reminds me that I live in a very special place.

I'd like for the new MO plates to list the vehicle owner's county of residence as some other states do - I'd love to have my plate say "City of St. Louis" on it!

^Yes, I agree! It would more likely say "St. Louis City" I think.

Could be worse - I think the last bison left Indiana well before the last true steamboat docked in StL.

DeBaliviere wrote:I'd like for the new MO plates to list the vehicle owner's county of residence as some other states do - I'd love to have my plate say "City of St. Louis" on it!

Good idea. It would also help us identify rural Missourians, so we could better anticipate them cutting us off in traffic.

Tysalpha wrote:

JivecitySTL wrote:

JCity wrote:

Totally disagree. I am a huge fan of St. Louis' seal.

Me too. I absolutely love the City Seal, and I think it's one of the coolest in the country.

Hmm. Ok, if you guys like it. I'd prefer it to be a more timeless design -- the solo steamboat really places it in the late 1800s and to me it lends evidence to the claim that St. Louis is "a city stuck in the romantic past of its heyday."

Yeah, we should really get a more progressive seal like St. Louis County. The County should update it with a John Deere tractor though to fit in more with 21st Century farming practices.

This thread has become wildly entertaining here lately. I love the seals.



And 314, I think those rural Missourians are more likely to have us zipping around them instead of cutting us off.

ThreeOneFour wrote:

DeBaliviere wrote:I'd like for the new MO plates to list the vehicle owner's county of residence as some other states do - I'd love to have my plate say "City of St. Louis" on it!

Good idea. It would also help us identify rural Missourians, so we could better anticipate them cutting us off in traffic.

I already get that for driving a Japanese car - I'm sure you do too!

trent wrote:314, I think those rural Missourians are more likely to have us zipping around them instead of cutting us off.

So true. And another good reason for county names on plates.



I didn't want to fuel anti-suburb vitriol when there's plenty to go around, but the folks from Jefferson and St. Charles counties seem to be more likely to cut fellow motorists off. In the rare instances when I'm in those places, I see more antisocial driving behavior than I do between the Missouri, Mississippi, and Meramec rivers. If I'm going anywhere south or west, I really dread it when I have to leave St. Louis during the evening rush.



But, with monstrous commutes and perpetually clogged highways, who would expect anything different?

DeBaliviere wrote:
I already get that for driving a Japanese car - I'm sure you do too!

You bet! I thought my wife and I were going to get lynched one time when we stopped for gas in Perryville.



Never mind that your Nissan was made in Tennessee and my Mazda was built in Michigan. To many people in rural areas- them's furrin' cars.