Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

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vibenvy
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Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by vibenvy »

As some of you may or may not know, back in October of 2013 I got a very special license plate for my Vibe. I had been wanting one for a while and after surfing the Illinois Secretary of State’s website, I was drawn to the Route 66 plates. These plates cost $40.00 more than regular plates and are very rare. I had only seen a couple vehicles with them. Then, after spending time in Pontiac (Route 66 stuff all over the place) for the 2013 GenVibe meet, I decided on exactly what I wanted

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Now, my mom is wanting the same style plate for her Vibe, but we are having a hard time coming up with ideas for what she could get on the plate. I have made a few suggestions, but she doesn’t like any of them, so I am asking for my fellow GenViber’s help in coming up with ideas for what she could get.

Please keep the guidelines below in mind when adding suggestions:

PERSONALIZED PLATES
*License plates with both letters and numbers must have a space between letters and numbers*
• 1 or 2 letters plus 1 thru 99
• 3 letters plus 1 thru 9
*Do not: Intermix letters and numbers (Example: A2B3)*
*Do not: Leave a space between letters*


VANITY PLATES
*License plates with up to 5 letters or up to 3 numbers only*
• Letters: 1, 2 , 3, 4 or 5
• Numbers: 1 thru 999


Obviously you can’t use foreign words and obscene or offensive combinations.

Suggestions so far:
1. VIBEN
2. VIBN
3. VBN
4. VBN 8
5. VBR 8 (Unfortunately, I highly doubt the Secretary of State would accept this one :roll:)
6. RATOR
7. STLGT (My mom's Vibe is Steel Blue Metallic.)

Let me know what you’ve got!
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vibenvy
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by vibenvy »

I'm disappointed in my fellow GenVibers. I thought you guys and gals would be full of ideas :cry:...
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Caretaker

Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by Caretaker »

Don't be disappointed. This site has been dead for years, with very few answers to be found. As an "original" member, it is sad to see.
As a former Illinoisian, I'm a bit baffled by the short letter/number combo that is available to you. I also used to have vanity plates when I lived atop the mounds of Cahokia, but don't recall the rules being so limiting. Perhaps it is the Route 66 logo taking up so much space. My ideas, which are likely outside the rules:

66Vibe
66Vyb
MyVyb
OVibe
GDVyb (for Good Vibe, or if you hate your car, the GD can stand for something else) :twisted:
BVyb
ZVyb (of course I like this one the best)
VI VI (for 66)
RT66
Oh, and if those SS are always on the end of this special Rt 66 plate, then I suggest using them to your benefit: 1HOTA (you get the idea). It will make your mom feel young again
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joatmon
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by joatmon »

Caretaker wrote:Don't be disappointed. This site has been dead for years, with very few answers to be found. As an "original" member, it is sad to see.
If it bothers you, post more. I used to genvibe a lot as work avoidance, a better job now and I post here a lot less
Caretaker wrote:Oh, and if those SS are always on the end of this special Rt 66 plate, then I suggest using them to your benefit: 1HOTA (you get the idea). It will make your mom feel young again
similarly, VIBLA (meaning Vibe Lass)

For you I would have suggested VIBNV

Its tough to be limited to five letters, I guess because the Rt 66 sign graphic takes up so much space.
Does she have any strong interests/hobbies, perhaps something not Vibe related? Its a vanity plate, so it could reflect some non-Vibe passion/trait.
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vibenvy
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by vibenvy »

Caretaker wrote:Don't be disappointed. This site has been dead for years, with very few answers to be found. As an "original" member, it is sad to see.
As a former Illinoisian, I'm a bit baffled by the short letter/number combo that is available to you. I also used to have vanity plates when I lived atop the mounds of Cahokia, but don't recall the rules being so limiting. Perhaps it is the Route 66 logo taking up so much space. My ideas, which are likely outside the rules:

66Vibe
66Vyb
MyVyb
OVibe
GDVyb (for Good Vibe, or if you hate your car, the GD can stand for something else) :twisted:
BVyb
ZVyb (of course I like this one the best)
VI VI (for 66)
RT66
Oh, and if those SS are always on the end of this special Rt 66 plate, then I suggest using them to your benefit: 1HOTA (you get the idea). It will make your mom feel young again
I too am very saddened by the lack of participation here, but at least it's still somewhat active. The J-Body Organization website is far worse. Of course it's been 10 years since they made the last Cavalier and Sunfire, which isn't quite as bad as 5 years for the last Vibe. I'll continue to post as much as I can to help keep GV going!

The strict guidelines are because of the Route 66 graphic taking up so much space. If it were a regular Illinois vanity plate, you could do up to 7 letters and / or numbers. These strict guidelines make it much harder to come up with ideas.

My mom started laughing very evilly when I told her about the 1HOTA! Unfortunately, this one does not fall within the guidelines because apparently you can't have a number before a letter :roll:. My mom than suggested SMRTA (SMARTASS), but unfortunately it's already taken :(.
joatmon wrote:similarly, VIBLA (meaning Vibe Lass)

For you I would have suggested VIBNV

Its tough to be limited to five letters, I guess because the Rt 66 sign graphic takes up so much space.
Does she have any strong interests/hobbies, perhaps something not Vibe related? Its a vanity plate, so it could reflect some non-Vibe passion/trait.
VIBLASS is cute, but I don't think it really fits my mom's personality.

I was considering getting a regular Illinois vanity plate that said VIBENVY, but decided against it as I used to have some issues with people wanting to race me, etc. when I had J TO ENVY on my former 2002 Pontiac Sunfire GT. I don't think people were too fond of the envy part which is why I decided VIBIN would be better.

As I said above, the strict guidelines do make it pretty hard to come up with ideas, but the plates are pretty rare, at least around here where we live, so it's worth it to have something that stands out.

As far as hobbies, etc., yes, but she's wanting to stick more to Vibe-related plates. Her current plate is a regular Illinois personalized plate that says FIRD UP 8. She's had it since she had her 1998 Pontiac Sunfire SE Sedan, so she's really wanting to finally get something tailored to the Vibe.
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gtv237
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by gtv237 »

I always wanted to do PONOTA(like Pontiac-Toyota) but Indiana has some kind of lawsuit thing going on right now so specialty plates are unavailable.
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vibenvy
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by vibenvy »

gtv237 wrote:I always wanted to do PONOTA(like Pontiac-Toyota) but Indiana has some kind of lawsuit thing going on right now so specialty plates are unavailable.
That sucks about specialty plates not being available :(.

I like POYOTA myself :P!
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NascarXprt
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by NascarXprt »

Yea the participation has been on a decline since a lot of the original memebers have moved on, im not one to really comment on particiation since i havent been on or posted in a looooooonnnnnng time, but yes, how about doing something like

VYBN
HWY 66
VYBN 66
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vibenvy
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by vibenvy »

So, I think my mom has finally come to a decision... GDVBS (short for GOOD VIBES)! I'll keep this thread updated if and when she actually orders and receives the plates...
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vibenvy
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by vibenvy »

So, my mom finally received her new plate...

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Caretaker

Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by Caretaker »

Hey, she went with one of my suggestions. :P
Looking good.
Time to go outside and wash the Vibe again. This west coast marine layer just cakes on the salt air day after day.
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vibenvy
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by vibenvy »

And best of all, the new plates arrived on my mom's birthday!

Thanks again for the plate suggestion ;)!

Both our Vibes are absolutely disgusting right now, but the weather hasn't been cooperating lately :(.
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by ImUrOBGYN »

If plates weren't so stupid expensive in Ohio, I would have FAKTRIX. Probably not gonna work for your, though. I may be moving back to TX soon, so I'll probably look into plates again there for the VIbe and Supra. Does Illinois have a website where you cna plug in ideas and see them approved or not? I think both Texas and OHio have something similar. Would help people here help you find a good plate name. Or, perhaps, Illinois can't afford a fancy license plate website? ;)
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by vibenvy »

Yes, Illinois does actually have a website where you can see what the plates will look like, etc.
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by tpollauf »

ImUrOBGYN wrote:If plates weren't so stupid expensive in Ohio, I would have FAKTRIX.
Yeah they're expensive but I've always had them 8-) What really pisses me off is that they did away with embossed letters about 10 years ago or so ONLY on vanity plates. :evil: You go to the BMV and get regular plates, and the letters are embossed. W T F .... go figure. Maybe the prisoners went on strike or something. Sure miss the look of embossed vanity plates.
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by vibenvy »

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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by tpollauf »

Good thing you got those "awesome looking" Route 66 vanity plates now and can proudly use them well into the future. Next year, according to that article, they will all look the same.
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by zbyers »

"GENVIBE" and "VIBE GT" are available as vanity plates here in PA. It's pretty tempting to do, but it's $76 PLUS the normal $36 registration fee. Maybe when I need to renew the registration in July I will do the GenVibe one.
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by vibenvy »

tpollauf wrote:Good thing you got those "awesome looking" Route 66 vanity plates now and can proudly use them well into the future. Next year, according to that article, they will all look the same.
That was a big reason for my mom to finally got off her (removed) and order the plates! I don't get the point of specialty plates that all look the same :roll:. Oh well, all I care about is that we have ours. Now I need to start working on my dad to get some for his new Trax. He started calling it Traxi, so that's what we're thinking for a plate, TRAXI :P.
zbyers wrote:"GENVIBE" and "VIBE GT" are available as vanity plates here in PA. It's pretty tempting to do, but it's $76 PLUS the normal $36 registration fee. Maybe when I need to renew the registration in July I will do the GenVibe one.
FWIW, I prefer VIBE GT to GENVIBE...

The Route 66 plates we have are an initial $163.00 (IIRC) to switch from a regular plate and than an extra $40.00 per year to renew ($141 a year). Totally worth it to me though :cool:!
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by zbyers »

I agree with you. I would probably do Vibe GT. Even Poyota is available, so that is an option too!
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by trb »

You guys have it pretty cheap for personalized plates. I checked on the Vibe GT one I have on my avatar again, and one year is $150 on top of the regular $65 registration fee. But if I prepay for 3 years it is $400, or 5 years it is $450! Such a bargain! I would like it, but that is too much for me.
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by tpollauf »

trb wrote: But if I prepay for 3 years it is $400, or 5 years it is $450! Such a bargain!
Actually that is a bargain! Ohio gets you for the "extras" on top of regular fees like all other states and my wife's "BOGUS" plate for her G8GT we've had for 25 years and is the most expensive. No discounts for long term purchase like what you mentioned. I think I've paid just under $4000 on that plate alone in the past 25 years :o Ouch!
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Re: Help - Need ideas for a specialty license plate!

Post by vibenvy »

Wow, Thomas and Tim, we feel even better about what we're paying for our plates :P! We've always had personalized and / or vanity plates though, so for us it's not a huge deal paying more to have a plate that stands out, but the prices you guys have to pay is nuts :shock:!
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