What do you have instead of a front license plate?

[Shvegel]

Where I live if you own a car of a certain age you can get a special license plate that designates it as such.  However they only issue one plate so now I have an empty front bumper.  I am thinking about having an imitation Euro plate made that matches the rear number (SL113) but was wondering what graces the front of your cars?

[scoot]

What does the front of your car look like with no plate at all?  Post pic of front of car please.

[mdsalemi]

The ersatz Euro plate is a pretty common one for "one plate states". I got mine a very long time ago, figuring it would answer the two most typical questions "What year is it?" and "What model is it?" When we've gathered for the PUBs and had around 40 Pagodas at a time, there were a large number of them. Some just said 230SL, 280SL, Mercedes, Pagoda, or something similar. Some were true fake plates (like mine with the D and the EU design, along with stickers from German states) and others are devoid of that ornamentation.

I do remember at the time I had a hard time finding a simple metal-chrome frame for it, though maybe easier today. It came with a black plastic thing. I had bought a Bud's Benz mounting kit (which keeps the plate straight) but that was for smaller plates. So I fabricated a backing out of .125" plate aluminum I had laying around and added it to the kit. It's held up quite well.

[su8pack1]

I had this one made almost 40 years ago.

[thelews]

nothing

[Pawel66]

She's naked.

[Shvegel]

Thanks for the responses.  Something to figure out for next Summer. 

[UJJ]

This is not a " instead" but the real thing

[neelyrc]

I have my original factory delivered German customs plate on the front bumper flanked by a couple of badges.

[Cees Klumper]

I would half suspect there are rules around front 'non-license plates' especially if they look like real ones. Someone may take down your plate number thinking it's the real thing.  I always thought it odd that some United States states don't require a front plate because certainly that diminishes chances of identifying a 'hit and run' vehicle etc. I am not aware of any European country that allows this. But, any country/state that does allow it, likely prohibits carrying lookalike plates on the front for the reasons mentioned.
Having lived in one of those states, Florida, I was always partial to those highly polished stainless steel rectangular plates with the chrome Mercedes star on them.

https://ppembzparts.com/i-30501487-mercedes-logo-plates-a-touch-of-class-large-gold-star-on-chrome-plate-with-frame-emblem-set.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw7fuJBhBdEiwA2lLMYWcQvJUctr4Ez4WF2CggNrm02aWBoOUMwHb8zlcc42Ir3cRlpQBtChoCQ08QAvD_BwE

[Shvegel]

Cees,
As you know we have some very different laws in the US.  Automobile licenses are controlled by each state and the rules vary wildly.  Some of the things I have seen that are legal are Using any plate that is the same year as the car was built (must register), using a plate from the build year on the front and a current plate on the back and I believe you car register a car in California with the earlier Black plate.  Various states have Historic plates or collector plates that are supposed to only be used at events or shows but enforcement is very lax and in states where you pay one fee for life I have seen many old beaters with collector plates. 

Probably the oddest thing we do is we have little if any inspection of vehicles.  Some states require a cursory inspection of lights, brakes etc but I do not believe there is any inspection of the structure of the car anywhere in the US.  I think that is why there are so many horrible repair jobs done in the US that end up being failed by TUV and MOT when they arrive in Europe costing the owners large sums to repair.

 

[MikeSimon]

Ohio changed recently and deleted the requirement for front plates. I am not aware of any rule/regulation that governs what you can actually mount in the front.
The "year plate" that you can use on a historic vehicle (25yrs and older) requires you to apply for a regular historic plate first and then request to replace this with the "year plate". You must carry the original historic plate with you. "year plates" are only allowed for the years were the whole plate changed, not only a sticker application. That was some time in the 70s - 1975 or 1976

In Germany you can buy a "look-alike" plate with any characters you desire. Of course, it is illegal to mount these on a car.
There the back plate carries the official registration stamp plus a date stamp when the next inspection is due and the front plate carries the date stamp for the next emission test. Not having these is an offense.
A lot of people buy duplicate plates to mount them on  their reserved parking spot.

[Shvegel]

Mike,
You’ve given me an idea.  Maybe I can get a replica of my rear plate and mount it on my wife’s side of the garage.  She somehow managed to lay claim to half of the heated garage that I built.  Apparently, it isn’t, “fair” for her to park outside during the long Ohio Winters.

[dakman29]

I'm in Washington.  I had a current "280 SL" vanity plate that came on the car when I bought it. It cost about an extra $100 each year to keep that plate but I did so for many years.  Then I decided that a euro plate would be good on the front.  I drove that way for a couple of years and actually got stopped in a rural part of the state by a county sheriff with apparently nothing better to do.  He gave me a conditional citation saying that if I sent him a photo within a couple of days showing that I had replaced the front plate with the state issued one, he'd tear up the ticket.  I did that and so did he.

I then researched the law in Washington and found that I could put a historic plate on the car that I paid for once.  With that the law only requires a rear plate.  I found a historic plate that was in use in 1968 that reads "AMA-113" and that's what's on the car now.  With a German plate on the front.   

[49er]

I have my original factory delivered German customs plate on the front bumper flanked by a couple of badges.

 Looks good Ralph. I kept the Oval plate from my 65 VW "712 Z-1001" that I had delivered in Paris and have it on my wall. Remarkably, I saw another VW in Rome that had the 712 Z-1002 plate . Small World back then.  My SL has the same CA black plate that has been on the car since new (a few Letters/numbers blacked out here in the photo ) California now has Black Plate replica plates but they can't have the same letter/number (ABC 123) sequence has the original plates.

John

[Benz Dr.]

 Dead bugs, racoon fur, and a bent license plate.

[Merc_Girl]

Where I live if you own a car of a certain age you can get a special license plate that designates it as such.  However they only issue one plate so now I have an empty front bumper.  I am thinking about having an imitation Euro plate made that matches the rear number (SL113) but was wondering what graces the front of your cars?

A silly question, but given we don’t have such a system in the UK.

So, what is the purpose of this and why is only one plate issued (do you mean one of the plates on the car has to remain as ‘originally’ issued?)?

I thought that ‘over the pond’ you could choose you licence plate anyway, so long as it wasn’t rude!

[zak]

I think the front bumpers of our 113s look best with a euro shaped long ( in width ) and narrow ( in height) lic plate. MB designed the bumper and attachment holes to fit the long euro plates with no thought of the US shaped lic plates. However the post 1973 107 Sls had a proper US size lic plate holder.

In NJ USA 2 lic plates are required even for historic plates, but I have been driving my 250 SL for 20 + years with an old Stuttgart plate on the front  and have never, ever been stopped for it.

I like the idea though of getting a faux euro plate made up that shows the same number/letters of my NJ plate on the rear.

jz

[teahead]

Custom euro plate

[John Betsch - "SADIE"]

I may have posted this or PM to some  before.  Attached is my license plate which I created to be as accurate as I can for where the car was located in Germany.  Unfortunately I selected "230" as  a number.  At a show awhile ago, this nice "Little Ole Grandma" approached me and said I like your license plate\
 "F-n Bad 230"  Oh well

jb

[DaveB]

Yes you did post it before - found it funny - F'n good.
But why do you say 'unfortunately selected 230 as a number'? Isn't your car a 230?

[hauser]

Here's mine.

[MikeSimon]

So, what is the purpose of this and why is only one plate issued (do you mean one of the plates on the car has to remain as ‘originally’ issued?)?

I thought that ‘over the pond’ you could choose you licence plate anyway, so long as it wasn’t rude!

In the U.S. one or two plates depends on State laws and they differ from State to State.
In almost all States you can have a "vanity" or "personalized" plate, characters on which you can pick. Rules still apply.
It will cost you every year, however, usually double the regular license renewal fee.

[mdsalemi]

So, what is the purpose of this and why is only one plate issued (do you mean one of the plates on the car has to remain as ‘originally’ issued?)?

I thought that ‘over the pond’ you could choose you licence plate anyway, so long as it wasn’t rude!

There was a time, when I was a child, when nearly every state in the USA issued two plates--front and rear. Many of them did this annually! So, you had to replace your plates each year.
After a while, New York (where I grew up) changed it so that they only issued a tiny metal "year plate" that fitted to the corner of the license plates to update them for the current year.

Then, as they say, "it's all about the Benjamins": it became a money issue. (Note for those unfamiliar: Benjamin Franklin is on our USA $100 bill) Some states only issued a rear plate, saving the states millions of dollars each year. Renewals came not in the form of new plates, but of little stickers.

But there are massive costs in each direction: if you order a new car in a one-plate state (Michigan for example) you will not get a front license plate "system" which, though mostly made of plastic, is a big contrivance that is affixed to a bumper somehow. When I bought my father a 5-year old car in Michigan some years ago, we had to pay a fair price online to get a front license plate assembly for his 2-Plate Massachusetts.

Some interesting reading, as it also brings into the equation photographing cars at borders and red light cameras, etc.:

https://www.cars.com/articles/how-many-states-require-front-license-plates-1420663046920/

[zak]

Hauser, you've got a lot of information packed into your front plate. Very good.

jz