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Front License Plate
I live in California and they “require” front license plates. I run front plates on my 2 cars since they’re old and the license plates doesn’t really do much in terms of coefficient of drag. I know 99% of the time most people will not get a ticket for it. But since the Aptera will attract a lot of attention and the likelihood of getting a ticket license plate could be higher. Also the main selling point if the efficiency. If I have to put front plates on for whatever reason, my guess is that it’ll increase the coefficient of drag and severely affect the total system efficiency. I would rather not run front plates but would there be a way to put front license plates without effecting the total car’s efficiency?
Thanks
- 20 Replies
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Front License Plate
updated 1 day, 5 hours ago 13 Members · 20 Replies -
In California the Aptera is classified as an Autocycle (Motorcycle) (not as a car), therefore it is required to only have a rear license plate & no front plate is needed.
- This reply was modified 6 months, 1 week ago by
BRUCE MENGLER.
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Thanks for the quick reply! exactly what I am looking for. I would hate to lose efficiency over a front license plate
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I also live in California and can easily see myself getting pulled over because the police don’t know autocycle laws.
If you wanted a front license plate that doesn’t affect aerodynamics you can have a vinyl plate custom made. I’ve done it on several cars I didn’t want holes drilled I to the front.
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Before a cop pulls you over nearly all the time he runs your tag, which brings up the registration. That will show the vehicle as autocycle/motorcycle. If he seriously doesn’t know an autocycle/motorcycle does not need a front plate, then you got one ignorant LEO.
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Thanks, Bruce.
I live in NY and I’m hoping we can get something like that here soon.
-Bruce
- This reply was modified 6 months, 1 week ago by
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I found out that Maine also doesn’t require a front plate on an autocycle; I may have to get that in writing. Went through a similar situation when I got pulled over in my 1960 Bug for no inspection sticker. It took a few minutes to explain (and for the police officer to verify) that cars registered with an antique auto plate are exempt from that.
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For Californians, here’s the link for getting a vinyl front plate. I’ll probably get one just to avoid the potential for confusion.
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That was a limited access pilot program that ended on 1 Jan 23. It is being reviewed.
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No pilot program required, just custom make a plate and stick to the car
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Not when I checked earlier today. California started a pilot program for vinyl stick-on plates back in the mid-teens run through the company tim-v linked above. Originally it was for government vehicles only but was then opened up to a maximum of 0.5% (IIRC) of regular vehicles in a certain geographic area. The program was to end in 2020 but was extended 2 years to 31 Dec 22. I just checked the dmv.ca.gov website and did not find it mentioned. If DMV has opened it up to everyone, there should be a link to the company’s website on dmv.ca.gov
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Tim, thank you for the information, very cool.
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I live in Australia and all Australian States require front plates for cars, not for motorcycles. Does anyone at Aptera have any idea of how the vehicle will be classified here?
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Trike – hence the width restriction on the vehicle. If you search the forum for Australia you should find some more details.
- This reply was modified 6 months ago by
Michael Marsden.
- This reply was modified 6 months ago by
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I’m Australian too. One concern I have is some car-park boom gates seem to use number-plate readers. I think they use the front plate but I’m hoping I’m wrong.
Off topic but one shopping centre I sometimes visit has a very tight curved lane at the boom gate. I’m not sure the Aptera would fit.
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@eddie-matejowsky Aptera isn’t really all that wide: If you include their side mirrors, Aptera is less wide than most full-size utes.
From what I gather, Australian code sets the minimum lane width of a low-speed road at 3m and the minimum parking space width at 2.4m: Aptera is – currently – 2.225m wide.
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There is one carpark (Carindale,Qld) where the feed in to the exit boom is curved. I have trouble getting my outlander through without hitting a tire and the curb is black from others doing the same. It is possible but hard to judge. A three wheeler should be a bit easier but scraping wheel pants would not be good. I’ll take a closer look next time (if there is one) to guess how high the curb is.
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I visited Carindale Shopping Centre again but used a different carpark. My passenger couldn’t walk far so I had to park close to the bank. That carpark used number plate readers. It definitely used the front plate only. One car wasn’t let out automatically and the driver pushed the assistance button and boom raised in 10 seconds. So it looks an Aptera shouldn’t be trapped.
I also used my phone(size) as a measure to measure the curb height. It is about 165mm so I expect wheelpants would not clear it if you bump the curb. This carpark has nice wide straight exit lanes unlike the one I mentioned before.A replaceable rub strip on the outer bottom rim of the pants seems like a logical addition. If it was tough enough it wouldn’t even need to be replaceable.
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There must be an existing system at those shopping centres to manage motor cycles that don’t have front plates
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The other car park issue is being able to reach the ticket machine to collect the ticket on entry and to be able to insert the ticket on the way out. The issue will be compounded by the small window opening; easy to open the door though
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Sounds like when I’m in my Miata at drive-up ATMs! Probably have the same problems with the Aptera.
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