Why people like unorthodox plate mount?

[stvding]

Originally Posted by Wrecker335d

I had no idea they were supposed to do that for free. I replaced my bumper so I never bothered to look. The original one had holes and the mount though.

I think it is a default job unless you tell then to do otherwise

[CanadianGatorBacon]

Who says a center front mount is where the plate is supposed to be. Sure it makes sense and is convenient, but there is no requirement. It's not like every rear plate is in the exact same spot on every car. A lot of them are in the center but some are on the trunk, on the bumper, below the bumper, and on on a spare tire cover. Some SUVs have the mounted to one side.

A center mounted front plate is just convention, it doesn't really matter where you mount it.

Also ...

[sp1tfire]

Just got 2 tickets in LA last week, never had plate or ticket for 4 years.

Will get a tow hook mount to put on if i need in. Wont be drilling hole in new bumper.

[stvding]

Originally Posted by sp1tfire

Just got 2 tickets in LA last week, never had plate or ticket for 4 years.

Will get a tow hook mount to put on if i need in. Wont be drilling hole in new bumper.

How do you know if you need it? You have a oracle that tells you if you will be caught by popo today? If you see a popo, that it is too late to pullover and put on your tow hook right???

[ShopVac]

Glad PA doesn't have a front plate law. Hope they never go to it...

If they did, I'd have this.

[M3xican]

Depends on the position, I think. Looks kind of ridiculous the way it's mounted on the Mazda.

[P1]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

Yes and so should ferrari, lamborghini, maserati, mclaren etc etc......ahem
It's a design philosophy. You can either design a car the way you like it and leave the number plate 'secondary' (its ugly anyway, wherever you put it), or you can let the design be leaded by the numberplate. It's a choice most people (here at least) dont seem to understand (but luckily all the great italian design houses do!)

But as everyone dreams and oooohs and aaaahs at the sight of a ferraris, lambos etc etc, there has to be said something for it dont you think?

I'm not a Ferrari or Lamborghini guy. Never was, never will be. Now Porsche, that is a different story.

That being said, you are speaking of exotics. The Alfas above are your bog standard daily beaters.

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by P1et

I'm not a Ferrari or Lamborghini guy. Never was, never will be. Now Porsche, that is a different story.

That being said, you are speaking of exotics. The Alfas above are your bog standard daily beaters.

Right..... because they are daily cars and not exotics they cant follow the same designing philosophy?
Besides that most alfas will become future classics.
I mean look at it: this is what alfa liked in 1997:



And this is wat the american taste was in 1997:


I see your point why the alfa is 'ugly'...

(actually the 156 was launched even a year earlier, so it might even have to compete with this beauty... I know, it's a hard choice but the centermounted license plate might just give it the edge )

[P1]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

Right..... because they are daily cars and not exotics they cant follow the same designing philosophy?
Besides that most alfas will become future classics.
I mean look at it: this is what alfa liked in 1997:



And this is wat the american taste was in 1997:


I see your point why the alfa is 'ugly'...

(actually the 156 was launched even a year earlier, so it might even have to compete with this beauty... I know, it's a hard choice but the centermounted license plate might just give it the edge )

I'm not following the point you're trying to make. Why are you comparing a 1997 Alfa Romeo with a 1997 Oldsmobile and a 1997 Chrysler?

The discussion here was how ugly an off-centered plate was. And out of nowhere, you're getting defensive about Alfa Romeo as a brand.

[GuidoK]

What I'm trying to say is that it depends on the design if an off centered license plate is ugly or not.
Having the license plate on a different place offers nice possibilities to make a stunning design. (that's why I said 'done right')
I'm not defending alfa as a brand, I'm pointing out that those cars look good despite of their off center license plate.
Ok, a discussion in taste is pointless (and thus this topic is), but alfa's are pretty renowend to be very goodlooking daily drivercars by most car critics and none speak of that the licenseplate location ruins everything...(in fact alfa has a very long history in putting licenseplates off center, as that grille design and a split front bumper goes back over 50 years I think)

I can imagine that not being familiar with alfa's it might seem odd and the usual human reaction is that it is therefore wrong (it takes an enlightend personality to see something without prejudice), but I havent met a lot of people from Belgium that think Alfa's look ugly (terrible was the word you used I think..). It's usually considered their strong point.

Putting them side by side with a contemporary american car of the same market segment (so no exotics or sportscars etc) after almost 20 years shows that

[P1]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

What I'm trying to say is that it depends on the design if an off centered license plate is ugly or not.
Having the license plate on a different place offers nice possibilities to make a stunning design. (that's why I said 'done right')
I'm not defending alfa as a brand, I'm pointing out that those cars look good despite of their off center license plate.
Ok, a discussion in taste is pointless (and thus this topic is), but alfa's are pretty renowend to be very goodlooking daily drivercars by most car critics and none speak of that the licenseplate location ruins everything...(in fact alfa has a very long history in putting licenseplates off center, as that grille design and a split front bumper goes back over 50 years I think)

I can imagine that not being familiar with alfa's it might seem odd and the usual human reaction is that it is therefore wrong (it takes an enlightend personality to see something without prejudice), but I havent met a lot of people from Belgium that think Alfa's look ugly (terrible was the word you used I think..). It's usually considered their strong point.

Putting them side by side with a contemporary american car of the same market segment (so no exotics or sportscars etc) after almost 20 years shows that

When I said "that looks terrible", I was referring to the off-centered plate as this is what the thread is about.

[GuidoK]

Yes well alfa has been doing that for an eternity on a large portion of their designs as it is a typical alfa design to have the grill split the front bumper in two.

Like this:


You cant be serious by saying that having the plate over that beautiful grille would look better on that car?

So imho it completely depends on the design of the car whether it looks good or not (as far as having a licenceplate can look good..) like I've been saying all the time.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

Yes well alfa has been doing that for an eternity on a large portion of their designs as it is a typical alfa design to have the grill split the front bumper in two.

Just because Alfa has been doing it since the beginning of time doesn't mean people have to like it... It's just awkward looking and is contrary to the symmetry of the entire car.

[GuidoK]

No 'people' dont have to like it as it is a discussion of taste (and therefore in essence pointless).

But what I said is that alfa's are pretty much considered by the entire car critics community as very beautiful cars. For what its worth. I've never seen them write "that licens plate position ruins everything!"

You may think that gorgeous classic giulietta is an ugly sighting because of that odd placement of the license plate that you americans arent used to, but I think most people in the rest of the world will think differently. Sure the placement is odd, but it fits the design. Having it in front would be way more ugly imho disrupting the the lines of the grille and split bumper (nice tidbit of info: that split bumper wasnt allowed in the US I think.)

And the fact that ferraris, lamborghinis, mclarens, maseratis, paganis etc etc follow that design philosophy of not incorperating an ugly large flat rectangular space in the design where the license plate must be put says something for that design philosophy: First design a beautiful front face of a car; where the license plate should be put is secondary. It's ugly anyway, whether its in the middle or on the side so leave it as an afterthought and not corrupt the initial design.
That seems to be the general way the most beautiful and desireable cars on the planet are designed by and alfa follows (or should I say maybe even started!) that philosophy. How can that be wrong? Even BMW has had some models like that (way back).

So you might find it ugly and that it ruins the entire car, but there is a whole group of designers and manufactureres that think and act differently and they are arguably producing the cars that are considered the most beautiful..its a choice of design.

But in the end it's indeed a matter of personal taste. You (or I) dont have to like/dislike what others do.

[ptbarnacle]

Originally Posted by stvding

I think it is a default job unless you tell then to do otherwise

I asked my suburban BMW dealer to not drill the front bumper when my M3 comes in. He said they never do unless customer asks. But it's free and some come back to get it with a fix it ticket in hand.
I purchased the tow mount to fix a fixit ticket if I get one or drive to the crazies in the city. Around here, the attitude test defines most tickets. Rarely tickets from tail lights, headlights, front license plate, etc.

[P1]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

No 'people' dont have to like it as it is a discussion of taste (and therefore in essence pointless).

But what I said is that alfa's are pretty much considered by the entire car critics community as very beautiful cars. For what its worth. I've never seen them write "that licens plate position ruins everything!"

You may think that gorgeous classic giulietta is an ugly sighting because of that odd placement of the license plate that you americans arent used to, but I think most people in the rest of the world will think differently. Sure the placement is odd, but it fits the design. Having it in front would be way more ugly imho disrupting the the lines of the grille and split bumper (nice tidbit of info: that split bumper wasnt allowed in the US I think.)

And the fact that ferraris, lamborghinis, mclarens, maseratis, paganis etc etc follow that design philosophy of not incorperating an ugly large flat rectangular space in the design where the license plate must be put says something for that design philosophy: First design a beautiful front face of a car; where the license plate should be put is secondary. It's ugly anyway, whether its in the middle or on the side so leave it as an afterthought and not corrupt the initial design.
That seems to be the general way the most beautiful and desireable cars on the planet are designed by and alfa follows (or should I say maybe even started!) that philosophy. How can that be wrong? Even BMW has had some models like that (way back).

So you might find it ugly and that it ruins the entire car, but there is a whole group of designers and manufactureres that think and act differently and they are arguably producing the cars that are considered the most beautiful..its a choice of design.

But in the end it's indeed a matter of personal taste. You (or I) dont have to like/dislike what others do.

The 70 or 71 Camaro was split bumper...

[swagon]

TL;DR why not just use a strong 3M tape and stick 'em on?

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by P1et

The 70 or 71 Camaro was split bumper...

yes you're right, it probably varies from time to time as rules change.
I know there are certain alfa's where the us version has a 1 piece bumper and the eu spec has a split bumper. maybe during that high impact bumper era or so. Always interesting to see the difference of how the designer ment it and how local rules can enforce changes.

I bet there have been people with split bumper camaro's where they've put the licenseplate to the side instead of hanging under (or in front of) the grille.

Edit:
Like this:

Looks imho better than putting it in front of that lovely grille. So imho also an example of 'done right' as the design doesnt leave a better place to mount it imho.