Today, June 15, is National License Plate Frame Day, which is not a thing in Japan because owners are not allowed to remove their license plates, ever. Here in the US, the license plate frame is yet another way to express your automotive individuality. Do you get a frame from the dealer and era your car came from? A brand that you support? A pithy message for a cause? Or is frameless the way to go? The possibilities are endless.
What license plate frame would you rock on your car?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Which Japanese crossover will be the first classic?“.
We’re kind of surprised that no one picked the Honda CR-V but Franxou believes that its cousin, the Element, will be worthy of preservation someday. Equally interesting in styling but in a different direction altogether was Ian G.‘s pick of Nissan Juke NISMO RS. Negishi no Keibajo made a great case for the obscure Suzuki SX4.
The most-chosen crossover was the most-certainly-not-obscure Toyota RAV4. But while nlpnt and Hagerty (via crank_case) chose the first-generation RAV4, the winner this week was Sammy B who argued a compelling case for Toyota’s third-generation crossover pioneer.
I’m going to go on a limb and say the 3rd gen RAV4. The 1st will always be noteworthy. The 2nd was better and more refined and could still have a 5MT. But the 3rd gen with the V6 was faster than sensible Toyota had any good reason to do. I know these kinds of apples to oranges comparisons don’t make sense usually, but if memory serves the 2006 V6 RAV4 was faster to 60 than a1999 Eclipse GSX! Wild
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
Long time driver here (25+years) – I’ve always been a frameless license plate kind of person but over the years (and about a dozen cars later), I’ve found a mix of everything is the way to be. support your make, go tinted/smoke, rep the favorite brand, rock the freebies you get from car shows, support a cause.. and so on and so forth. Switch it up and do so often.. as the saying goes “variety is the spice of life”!
A black one that 100% completely obfuscates the license plate….
/sarc
And my taillights as well.
The only license plate frame I have on any of my cars is a George Mason Patriots frame that I’ve seemingly had forever. I’m pretty sure I first put it on my awful 97 Audi A6 (the plate I had for that said OUTTIE because that’s what a friend of mine thought I had gotten for myself) which then transitioned to my brand new 05 Scion tC, and eventually found its way onto my 07 Legacy GT wagon. I’ve had to repaint the lettering multiple times and need to do so again.
On one hand, I want to think I’m promoting my alma mater by showing the love. On the other, I wonder what people think of GMU folks when I do something questionable in front of them.
On my Element, my plate rocks a “My other car is a Mountain Bike” frame.
The Miata NB says, “Miata Club Member” It was from the OG Mazda-run club 🙂
My 1971 HONDA AN600 is rocking a period correct “MADE FROM JAP BEER CANS”
Pretty proud of that one…..
My Suzuki frame I picked up at an Iceland dealership for my (former) Samurai.
Our household cars all rock frames, ranging from our roots (San Leandro Nissan), to my alma mater (Calpoly Alumni Association – San Luis Obispo), to nice company slogans (Honda Power of Dreams), to simple black frames. The one frame where I have “repeats” is the “The Manual Gearbox Preservation Society,” on my Mazda6 as well as the Z. Lots of pride on that one, as this group represents roughly 1% of the cars on the road today.
Go Mustangs! (Cal Poly GrC ’91)
“Ferrari Beverly Hills” frame on a SW20 with full F355 kit
“Do it in a Datsun”, enough said.
Only vintage frames on the JNCs! – An original ‘Do It In A Datsun’ frame with green lettering on my 510 Wagon, and vintage ‘Los Angeles Datsun Dealers’ frame on my 240z.
My girlfriend wanted to match with a vintage plate frame for her new CX-30 Turbo, so I found a sweet old ‘Foxy Lady’ frame with a dark grey/blue background that matches the Polymetal Grey paint quite well.
All my cars are Japanese, and I shall go frameless. The first mod I do to any car is ditch the license plate frames!
How is there any other choice but a “JapaneseNostalgicCar.com” frame? But just as importantly, why is there not one (or more options, perhaps a red one, a white one, and a black one?) in the JNC merch shop?
Hybrids.jp one. Those that know, know.
I usually prefer a clean and simple license plate frame that does not cover any registration details. Properly visible plate information helps avoid unnecessary issues during inspections and verification. It is always interesting to see how different regions manage vehicle and driver record systems online as well.
I use the same metal Mooneyes plate frame on all my cars, except my SA22C which had a Toad Hollow Mazda Fiat Alfa Romeo frame I found at a junkyard.
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