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Someone's Rating U.S. License Plate Designs and It's Too Much Fun

License plates can be boring or very intriguing if they are personalized. However, some people could look beyond the simple meaning of a string of letters and/or numbers. A photographer who is passionate about traveling off the beaten track does exactly that. And because he has an eye for cool-looking things, the man decided to rank the license plates that can be found across the U.S.
Tesla Model 3 with Vanity License Plates 11 photos
Photo: Sandor Bodo / The Providence Journal
Vanity License PlateVanity License PlateVanity License PlateVanity License PlateLimited Edition License PlateU.S. License Plates RankingU.S. License Plates RankingU.S. License Plates RankingU.S. License Plates RankingU.S. License Plates Ranking
You are here because you most likely appreciate cars and their complicated yet absurdly beautiful universe. There are very few things on Earth that can be used to create diverse communities. Cars are one of those things. Even though they continue to be perceived very differently by humans, these machines can catalyze new friendships that might have never happened in another environment. At the same time, a car can be just another workhorse.

When you truly think about it, the vehicle can be considered a symbol of survivability. It started life as an invention meant to help humans with their transport needs, and it has continuously evolved and reinvented itself as society moved forward. And the journey continues!

But one thing that has not changed much since cars needed a way to be easily identifiable is license plates. In the U.S., it all started when New York decided to force car owners into having something that could help law enforcement and other traffic participants easily distinguish them. At first, people made these plates themselves at home. All they had to do was to put their initials on them without any numbers. California decided to do the same. Massachusetts, however, decided to take this responsibility upon itself and started issuing license plates in 1903.

The numbers!

But you may think that license plates were not a necessity when America did not have that many cars on the road. You could be right but making sure one can be identified as the owner of a certain car is a practice that dates back to ancient Rome! According to the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), efforts to make sure chariots have some sort of mark were first made under Julius Caesar’s rule.

Vanity License Plate
Photo: bossaudio.com
Fast forward around two millenniums, and now we are looking at all types of license plates. Some are bland, some are colorful, others carry a message, while a couple of them are meant for very important people that represent Americans or have high-level public jobs. But license plates issued by the federal government are not spotted that often in the wild, and they do not look fancy, so let’s see what else is in store for us.

Planning on getting a very special car soon? Well, maybe you should also think about the state in which you’ll register it. California, Texas, and Florida have the largest number of vehicles – over 71 million! But if you’re not worried about crowded places, then maybe you want to make sure styling is not going to be an issue.

Fortunately, Taylor Cramer decided to do something fun for everyone. Being passionate about overlanding, photography, and astronomy gives the man enough insight to look at colors and shapes from a different, more unbiased perspective. He rates the license plates issued by America’s states, territories, and, of course, the District of Columbia. The best part? It is not just a design lesson or a complaining festival made on social media to attract followers. The man started this series on Instagram and made sure to prepare an interesting format for it. You won’t spend a lot of time listening to his assessment, but you also won’t feel like it was not enough.

The worst-looking U.S. license plates

Cramer’s idea to share his vision with the world also involves a couple of cool insights into how and why these license plates ended up as they are today.

U\.S\. License Plates Ranking
Photo: thetravelingbeardd on Instragam
For example, the worst license plates the man chose to put at the bottom of his ranking are issued by New Jersey. He says their creators had only one goal in mind – to make them easily readable. But, in doing so, they chose a “visually offensive color gradient.” There’s no need to add more since this state’s license plates were put right at the end of the group in 55th place.

Right there, at the bottom of New Jersey, sits Rhode Island with its “wave” plate. According to the overlander, Ocean State did not do a very good job. But there’s a new design coming soon which sends the grayness away and brings back three cool shades of blue.

The series continues and touches on many other designs and ideas, but it is not done yet. The latest analysis puts Delaware’s plates on the 31st spot, so there’s a lot more to go until a winner is crowned.

Until we find out which state has the best license plate design, let’s take a look at the ones that have already been discussed. There’s a lot to uncover.



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About the author: Florin Amariei
Florin Amariei profile photo

Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one.
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