# What are these metal badges I've been seeing on vehicles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 5, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-metal-badges-ive-been-seeing-on-vehicles/706444 "2014-12-05T20:10:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-metal-badges-ive-been-seeing-on-vehicles/706444/21 "2015-05-04T18:53:23Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > That was certainly the case when I lived there. And still is as far as I know from friends and relatives who still do live there. License plate frames with the dealer’s name were all but universal on new or used cars sold through a dealer. CA plates from 1963 on are valid if still on the original car. Very occasionally you will see a car with one of the old, old orange on black plates that were last issued in 1969. I don’t believe CA is the only “plate with car” state, but it’s in the minority. It’s the only one out of 4 states I’ve registered a car in. The others (CO, MT and PA) were “plate with owner”. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-metal-badges-ive-been-seeing-on-vehicles/706444/22 "2015-05-04T19:01:59Z")
We changed from ‘plate with car’ to ‘plate with owner’ in 2008. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-metal-badges-ive-been-seeing-on-vehicles/706444/23 "2015-05-04T19:08:02Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > CA plates from 1963 on are valid if still on the original car. Very occasionally you will see a car with one of the old, old orange on black plates that were last issued in 1969. > > I don’t believe CA is the only “plate with car” state, but it’s in the minority. It’s the only one out of 4 states I’ve registered a car in. The others (CO, MT and PA) were “plate with owner”. Also, critically to my theory, even most “plate with car” states force you to replace the plates every few years. I think California is the only state that doesn’t, I presume because of their constant struggle with running out of plate numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-metal-badges-ive-been-seeing-on-vehicles/706444/24 "2015-05-04T19:27:26Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I beg to differ, at least from the late 60s through the early 80s. Okay. As a gearhead/car nut from the mid-60s through at least the early 2000s (got mine, didn’t care any more) I don’t recall ever seeing a California dealer mark on a car, other than license plate frames or paper plates. Ever. That, IMHO, cannot be simply from “customers don’t like it.” Car dealers do a shitload of self-serving stuff customers don’t like. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-metal-badges-ive-been-seeing-on-vehicles/706444/25 "2015-05-04T19:29:29Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Agree completely. Now if only we could get a blanket prohibition against logos on clothing. I’d agree, but not from within the context of this discussion/argument. If Nike and Guess and Gap and all want to stamp their name a foot high across a shirt, it’s very much their prerogative. Just buy something else. There are ALWAYS other quality makers - often better quality makers - who don’t turn you into a walking billboard and tell you it’s stylish. “Real men wear their labels on the inside.” ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-metal-badges-ive-been-seeing-on-vehicles/706444/26 "2015-05-04T19:31:44Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > Also, critically to my theory, even most “plate with car” states force you to replace the plates every few years. Most states have stopped being insistent about plate replacement now that the high-reflectivity plates are the overwhelming majority. You know - for _safety!_ :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-metal-badges-ive-been-seeing-on-vehicles/706444/27 "2015-05-04T19:49:31Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I’d agree, but not from within the context of this discussion/argument. If Nike and Guess and Gap and all want to stamp their name a foot high across a shirt, it’s very much their prerogative. > > Just buy something else. There are ALWAYS other quality makers - often better quality makers - who don’t turn you into a walking billboard and tell you it’s stylish. > > “Real men wear their labels on the inside.” I’ve found it very, very hard to buy athletic gear, say a track (warm-up) suit or muscle shirt, without somebody’s logo on it. Then again, I shop at mainstream stores, not the internet at large. What I really need is a nearby location of “Bob’s Discount No-Name Chinese Gym Gear” Logo-less ordinary clothes are trivial, as you say. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-metal-badges-ive-been-seeing-on-vehicles/706444/28 "2015-05-04T20:05:58Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’ve found it very, very hard to buy athletic gear, say a track (warm-up) suit or muscle shirt, without somebody’s logo on it. Then again, I shop at mainstream stores, not the internet at large. What I really need is a nearby location of “Bob’s Discount No-Name Chinese Gym Gear” Hit any large “t-shirt printer” and you can buy all kinds of athletic clothing with no logos, from the cheap-ass stuff used for giveaway shirts to the best makers (Hanes, others.) Many will have pro-grade shorts, jerseys, warmups etc. intended for imprinting. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-metal-badges-ive-been-seeing-on-vehicles/706444/29 "2015-05-04T20:28:43Z")
Sweet. Thanks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-metal-badges-ive-been-seeing-on-vehicles/706444.md?page=1)