Vanuatu Fake

December 11, 2011

I photographed this Porsche GT three years ago in Vienna/Austria. Unfortunately i wasn´t able to speak with the driver.

For sure in the red field on the left part of the plates there were the letters ´VU´ and the flag of this islands. Front and rear plates were ident and they didn´t seem to be of paper. Right beside there was a ´CD´-Oval.

All researches delivered other colours and appearance of Vanuatu-Plates.

Of course i found the mass of wrong examples and the possibility of offshore-registration in vanuatu, but they always look quite different…

Further i found that there really is existing a vanuatu registration with this number for a Porsche GT held by the mysterious GT-Group. This dubious firm consists of mailboxes spread around the whole world and sells all kinds of licenses.

I´m sure this car haven´t ever seen one of the islands of vanuatu. It´s much cheaper to use a fantasy-registration. The riddle is why nobody else discovered such type of vanuatu fake yet.

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Posted by platepeter

New book: ‘License Plates of the Vatican City State’

December 7, 2011

Europlate member (#62)  Dr. Marcello Gallina has now published his new book on the history of the Vatican State registration systems.    Carlo Bellini has collaborated in the production.    That’s Bellini, not Fellini, chaps!

I was able to obtain two copies of the English-language version last week via a pal who was over in Italy and liaised with Marcello.

It is a very detailed, 170-page work, with 200 black-and-white photographs of Vatican plates old and new.

‘License Plates of the Vatican City State’ is  a must-have addition to each of our libraries.   Marcello’s contact email is:        marcellogallina@tiscalinet.it    

He plans to be at the Easter Europlate Convention near Milan.

Vatican City Plates by Marcello Gallina

Vatican City Plates by Marcello Gallina

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Posted by Victor Brumby

Confuse-a-spotter

December 7, 2011

Most of the territories which Britain managed in the earlier years of the 20th. century were given registration systems firmly anchored in the design and layout of the Construction and Use regulations of the home country.     As a result, far-flung places could have identical plates and an early spotter relied on the vehicle carrying an international oval at the back, if it travelled outside its own land.     The most prolific type was letter ‘P’ with usually stood for private, but not always. followed by up to four numbers.     Here though, are three  ’AY’  examples, all still legally circulating in their respective countries.     First, Turkish Northern Cyprus, AY 255.

Turkish Northern Cyprus AY 255

Then, AY 230 – Alderney, Channel Isles (GBA)
Alderney, Channel Isles - AY 230

and Hong Kong (HK) ( a  re-issue, as AY 995 is quite old now, on a new car.)
Hong Kong AY 995

No identifying ovals, unfortunately, but I do remember where I took the pictures!

~~~~~~~

Perhaps the most confusing set of identical plates was issued in the Windward Islands.    One had to chase the car and interview the driver to obtain the island of issue, as they hardly ever carried an international oval….

GRENADA (WG) on an MG TD in Newmarket, GB in 1964. P 2734

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Posted by Victor Brumby

South Africa Military

December 6, 2011
The R code was used by the Defence Department in South Africa between 1961-88.    The V suffix might indicate trailer…….

ZA army towed gun 2005

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Posted by Victor Brumby

Sri Lanka CV code

December 6, 2011

Here is a web page which shows a few early Sri Lanka plates on trolleybuses.    The double-deckers use the code  ’CV’ which RPWO lists as ‘diesel buses & lorries’ – so perhaps CV also covered electrically-driven vehicles, too…..

I had once thought that it indicated ‘Conduit Vehicle’, as trams and trolleys rely on the overhead conduit for power, but no.

http://www.bokhans.com/trollybus.html

And while we’re in Ceylon:

Austin A40 Devon in Colombo 2009

Austin A40 Devon in Colombo 2009

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Posted by Victor Brumby

Malaysian special issue.

December 1, 2011

'Malaysia First' special issue

Since 2010, some wealthy folk are circulating in Malaysia carrying a new type of special plate, using a G 1 M prefix.    My first was seen in Penang in Feb. 2011, on a brand new Jaguar sports, which I followed and photographed but lost the image in an irrecoverable external memory crash.

Then another this week on a new Ferrari and yesterday this one on a new Bentley (which, with local duties etc., would cost about US$800,000 here, as would the Ferrari.)

The prefix G 1 M is said to reflect an new imaginative concept of the Prime Minister, to encourage his citizens to think of Malaysia First (1 m) though the ‘G’  is not understood.    He has allocated lots of money to support the scheme in its many facets, possibly to companies with which he is friendly and who are co-operative in his ventures.

Some oversight may be seen here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1Malaysia

Personally, I don’t like any form of vanity plate, wherever it is from or whatever it ‘celebrates’.      It is ostentatious – and plays into the hands of cynical registrations authorities, who delight in grabbing money for nothing, from a naive motoring public.     I am impressed by such as the Germans, who have held back, surely against great pressure to turn their excellent system into a plaything.

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Posted by Victor Brumby

Is this a St. Lucia variant?

December 1, 2011
St. Lucia unknown series

WL construction machine

In Castries, St. Lucia, in Jan. 2010, I saw this odd construction vehicle which rejoiced in a ‘Q’ suffix to its ‘T’ (Transport/Truck) code – though their  T  issue is nowhere near reaching Q in series, having only then reached TG.

Might the ‘Q’ indicate Special Purpose Vehicles?

I often wonder if Q in plate parlance abbreviates  ’Queer’  in its proper sense of ‘out of the ordinary/not part of the standard run’.   GB has used it for international imports and exports in unusual circumstances.    EAT used it as  a suffix for temporary imports, (eg TAQ).    Malaysia gave it to Sarawak when it struggled to split out the overlapping codes of Sabah, Sarawak, Peninsular Malaya and Singapore.      Just a thought…..

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Posted by Victor Brumby

The things they tell us!

December 1, 2011

Afghanistan? Not likely!

A Volkswagen 1600 fastback parked in Kensington, London, during the 1970s, carried this very peculiar plate, with yellow digits on a black – or blue – ground.     (My photo was in black and white and age has done the rest!)

As seems to have been the way, the more interesting the plate spotted, the worse my photos became.    I have plenty of beautifully-exposed commonplace plate pictures, but for anywhere odd, I was lucky if the image even developed!

One day, when passing 26-12515, and wondering again, where it may have come from, the driver approached the car, giving me the opportunity to lay the mystery to rest!       However, he became  extremely jittery when asked what must have seemed a sensitive question to him –  and, pressed by this newshound,  finally uttered the word “Afghanistan” as he drove off with a squeal of rubber.      (If VW1600s had the power to make their rubber squeal.)

Well, of course, I didn’t believe him then and I  still don’t, but as the years have passed, I have wondered whether the (properly stamped-out) plate might have been a form of out-of-state Chinese issue, from province 26 – Ningxia-Hui (Yinchuan) – unlikely though it would have been then – or even now.    Compare a standard PRC plate of the period:

white on blue was for light vehicles 1949-87

My London sighting used a different font and much smaller plates than the Chinese design – not much bigger in fact, than an Italian or early Libyan front plate.     I expect that it would tie up that the authoritarian 1970s Chinese would not permit a car to exit PRC carrying its numberplates, even for a foreigner allowed in temporarily under some scheme, so it is reasonable to imagine the replacement plates could have been made up simply to travel out of the country – and the originals handed in, as in Japan.          

What think Europlate members?

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Posted by Victor Brumby

Tahiti Consular CC IT 4

October 25, 2011

Tahiti isn’t much seen outside the islands.   In 53 years, I have seen it twice in France and once in New Zealand, PLUS this very unusual Consular Corps version, un-noted in any official references to the islands’ plate systems.     This Volvo Amazon was captured by VB in London around 1962

and the cheerful owner advised that he was the Danish consul there.

I went over there in 2000 and square-searched Papeete for any remaining evidence of consular plates, but there were none – just regular registrations with  separate black on green ‘CC’ ovals.     And Air New Zealand wouldn’t give me my money back!

The typical  ’TAHITI’  silver on red plate was carried at rear, used in the absence of a dedicated international oval, though officially, I suppose it should carry an ‘F’  oval.

(As should St. Pierre et Miquelon and Guiane etc. etc. etc.  but how dull that would be!)

Anyone else seen a Tahiti vehicle outside the islands?

Addendum Nov 2011:     Recent contact with the island motor bureau reveals that they are sure no such series has existed!     They are sure CC IT 4 is not from Tahiti!      (I wonder where that Dane is today?   He could fill us in….)

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Posted by Victor Brumby

Zanzibar JR 9

October 15, 2011

This Zanzibar Beetle was captured near Barnes,  by VWB in 1961.    Around that time we saw another on a Citroen DS19,(GE 2) and one on a Simca 1100, which kept its Zanzibar registration as its new English plate, by a fluke of administration in the GLC licencing office.    

When the Empire territories achieved their independence, it usually gave rise to the return of colonial administrators, as they were replaced by indigenous personnel.    They brought home their cars to UK – and treated us young spotters to sightings of rare species! 

Now there have been no sightings of Zanzibar (or indeed of Tanganyika) plates in Britain for over 40 years.     (Unless you know otherwise????)

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Posted by Victor Brumby

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