How vanity license pl8s reflect LAs culture of showmanship

In LA, exhibitionists are everywhere.So are their vanity license plates.Every day, across the City of Angels, motorists sit in traffic and mull over the messages: “WYA OMW,” “2 NRVUS,” “1RNG 2RL,” “CHZ PL8,” “2BCONTD.”Thanks to the exhibitionists, any parking lot can serve as an adventure in wordplay.It’s a puzzle, a respite, a bright spot on congested LA streets.Some plates are clever, some explanatory and still others are baffling non sequiturs.They all say something about this megalopolis and the people who call it home.California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedInCalifornia Post Sports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, XCalifornia Post Opinion California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!California Post App: Download here!Home delivery: Sign up here!Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!Cars have long been vehicles for Angeleno self-expression, ever since the automobile’s rise to popularity in the 1920s and the explosion of car ownership that came with post-World War II prosperity and suburbanization.

Whether it was buying a Cadillac with fins or customizing your car to be a lowrider, what you drove became as personal as your signature, an extension of the clothes you chose to wear on your back.California introduced personalized vanity plates in 1970, allowing for a whole new world of personalization — and showmanship.Despite California’s being pricey ($50-$100 per year in DMV fees), the Golden State boasts the most vanity plates of all the states.There are 36 million licensed vehicles in California, and 1 million of those have vanity plates, leading the US in sheer numbers of personalized plates.Meanwhile, license plates in general are in flux.California has nearly exhausted its 7-character sequence, and the DMV is preparing for a new sequence to last for an expected 40 years.But even if the standard code is changing, you can always choose your own adventure with a vanity plate.The California DMV re...