I was an avid license plate fan growing up, and even managed to collect a few old plates from my parents' cars back in the day. I remember thumbing through what I considered a great reference book from the early 80s, which showed plates for all 50 states and in all the multiple classifications that were possible. And yes, that weak piece of paper flapping around the back of my bicycle/tricycle were hand-drawn "plates".
Michigan, like most other states (presumably), issued new plates year after year until around 1975 or so; when those dreaded stick-um tags debuted. I understood the reasoning (save money on raw materials), but the fun was gone. And since 1983, the main issued plate was the same dull blue & white one. Nobody I knew liked it, since it possessed no character, unlike its predecessors.
Needless to say, I jumped on the bandwagon when the state finally offered second-tier plates commemorating the auto centennial, and now possess the model with the Mackinac Bridge on it. Despite these two, the blue plate endured.
Finally, they are retiring that plate in 2007 in favor of a more reflective material. You would expect me to jump out of my seat in jubilation. Instead, I just read the article and moved to the next page. Why? When I saw a catalog of what custom plates are out there now, I realized there is already too much variety out there that is actually not in massive circulation.
Plates with the Mac bridge in it are great. But when you commemorate lighthouses, college teams, colleges as a whole, and such... it takes away from the uniqueness that such issues demand. I for one was never a fan of the personalized license plates (which promote messages), and to me these offshoot plates are approaching that level too fast, and are taking too much enjoyment out of a one-time hobby.
As if attractions and colleges aren't advertised enough through those damned "naming rights"...
