Euro license plate on the front

It appears many guys in here don't have the front license plates. I live in L.A., and my black 996 C2 coupe is tinted all the way around. I got pulled over for not having the front license plate and had to redo the tint all over. Any trouble wit the cops without the front plates? I saw a guy in a late model Audi with U.S. license plate numbers made into Euro license plate and attached it to the front. The law says that those plate numbers have to be on the U.S. spec plates. Does anyone who have this type of Euro license plate on the front get pulled over by a cop?

I got rid of my front plate. First with bumper plugs and then I had the holes filled when I had my bumper resprayed. I've never had a problem with any of my cars either here in CT, in NYC, or in SoCal and I've never used the front plate. Even when pulled over for something else it's never been mentioned. I always thought the EU style plates might draw too much attention to the front plate issue.

I never understood why people do that. It's usually the Audi or VW crowd. 50% of the European big 3 (Porsche, BMW, MB) production is sold n the US. Most of the high-end performance engines are shipped to the US (because of European tax penalization of 'big' engines). There's a whole set of engines (diesels, 1.8 liters fuel, etc) that are not even sold in the US. Why would people want to associate with the European cars ? Do they think it gives them some kind of 'Autobahn' flair ? I am totally confused....

Would you like to give some examples of "big engined cars from Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, VW and Audi" shipped to the USA that are not available here in Europe. I live in Europe and this is the first time I have ever heard this statement made. The high end performance cars such as the RS series from Audi have only started to arrive in the USA and ALL are/were available here in Europe. You are correct about the smaller engined cars and Diesels which are not available in the USA. Porsche total absolute sales numbers in the USA have dropped to 38% of total production due to Porsche's expanding market in the Rest of the World. The big boys from Germany are VW, Mercedes, BMW, Opel, Ford and Audi. Porsche is the 24th car seller in the German rankings this month. Why would they want to associate with European cars? Probably because they are driving a European car made in Europe. You drive a Porsche which when I last looked was also manufactured just up the road. You associate yourself with Europe by the car you drive. How can a Porsche not be European? Ciao, Adrian. PS: Many European owners of American made cars and trucks carry American style number plates in their vehicles. The car owners usually in their rear windows and the truck owners have their name plates in the American style.

I've also had no problems in SoCal without a front plate. However, I hear that if you park at LAX, the parking enforcement people supplement their ticket count by handing you a fix-it, so consider parking at one of the unofficial lots (I use Park One next to Terminal 1)

Adrian, No need to get upset. I'm European myself, live in the US and work for Switzerland's largest Pharmaceutical company. Lived in 6 countries so far (of which an extended period in Basel, CH). There are indeed a couple of pockets in Europe where you can find more luxurious cars (CH, LUX, Monaco), but on average the customer is scr*wed because of Tax reasons. The big engine cars will be available, but hardly anybody can afford them. To put it in BMW terminology, a 525i (530d) would be the most common 5-series in Europe. In the US 545's are common. In the US people go to a lot and can drive their (full optioned) car home the same day. In most states there is hardly any sales tax. In Europe they go to a dealership with 3 floormodels and have to pay 200% markup on a mile long option list. The car will follow within 3 months. When they receive it, they'll pay 20% VAT and environmental tax... Been there, done that. Net, my feeling is that the US customer gets the better deal and that I see more high-end European cars over here compared to Europe. When I talk to Americans, they usually think Europe is this exotic place with the fastest cars on the face of the earth and no speed limits...somebody please fill them in on the tax system and the speed cameras... Just sharing.

Yves, I am not upset I just don't agree with all of what you say. I have lived in Europe for the past 13 years and travelled extensively. Some of what you have written I simply cannot agree with because I have seen the complete opposite especially in the past five years as the various National economies have improved. According to the car sales data from last month in Germany alone, Porsche sales were up by over 20%, Ferrari were up by a staggering 155% closely followed by Lambo at 150%. Aston were up by 40%, Jaguar by 29.1% and the big boys from General Motors (as in big engined) up by 29%. Porsche in total for calendar year 2006 are up by 6.5%. If you want to see high end cars parked on top of each other visit Munich. Ciao, Adrian.

Back to the plates issue. I've seen a lot of ric** folks use Japanese plates here in the Bay Area -- especially on a WRX STi. To be honest, I think they are sort of cool .

I agree because it shows that people are identifying with the country that manufactured the car they choose to own. As I said American number plates are displayed here in American cars. I have a pile of real ones in my living room. Maybe I just like the ideology that we can all be positively connected somehow through cars and number plates. Ciao, Adrian.

I live in the High Desert of Southern California and have never been pulled over for a missing front plate. Maybe I have just been lucky? I have been driving sports cars for over 40 years in both Los Angeles and all of SoCal and have never had a plate problem. I really think it has to do with the cop that pulls you over and the reason you might give them to start writing more violations. I also drive around in a 1926 Ford Model T Touring car with 1926 Oregon plates on it. This car does not even have seat belts, and never goes much faster than 35 mph. Most cops just smile and wave. Tom L 2002 C2

Southern California, especially L.A. is different... people cut you off, peole drive super aggressive, etc. Right after terrorism on WTC, cops were everywhere in L.A.. That time was when I got pulled over. They were cracking down on those cars without front plates. It may be okay these days. I am thinking about putting up the plate against the windshield, but that might scratch up the window or the dashboard. Not only that, it's gonna look ugly from inside looking out.

You are more than likely to get pulled over for having the plate in the windshield as an obstuction to your vision. When you got pulled for the plate, did the cop tell you that, or did he pull you for the tint and just added on the no front plate? My Red C2 has heavy tint all around and I almost always drive with the windows down, especially when I see a cop. I don't know if they are handing out fines for no plate in SoCal, or just issue a fix-it ticket? If just a fix-it ticket, I would probably take off the front plate again. Good Luck, Tom L 2002 C2

Exactly! Seems to me as if the US is getting the watered down versions. Just look at the US versions of the GT2, GT3 and BMW M3. Ciao, J.

It was indeed a fix-it ticket for no front plate, but when I got pulled over, the cop issued an additional fix-it ticket for the tinted windows which cost $180. After that, I just have the front plate on, and didn't bother taking it off. Didn't wanna give cops any more reason to pull me over that could potentially lead to other issues.

I've been driving my Cab in L.A. for just over two years without a front plate. I got one "fix-it" ticket (while parked on the street from a meter maid) the first year and figured I didn't mind $25/year to not have a front plate. There are parts of L.A. though (West L.A. in particular) where parking enforcement is outrageous. I got two "fix-it"s in two weeks parked at a meter with plenty of time on it for the front plate deal. It's such a big difference with the front plate on the car, I think I'll just risk it.