US Number Plates Censors Worse Than Ours!

We have posted previously about censorship of number plates practiced by certain American authorities. We have also had a gentle dig at our friends from the DVLA when they have withheld certain sequences of characters from the normal issue series of registrations, supposedly because such sequences of characters might resemble offensive words etc.

Well, here's another example of personal number plates censorship from the USA. In Nevada a complaint was files against the car registration SEXRXRR. The complaint claimed that the number represented "sex, drugs and rock & roll". The committee responsible for ensuring that number plates don't warp the fragile personalities of Nevada's citizens agreed with the complainant and withdrew the registration from use.

SEXRXRR... "Sex, drugs and rock & roll"? Hang on, maybe if I narrow my eyes and kind of squint sideways... Nope, it still looks nothing like it.

Strewth, at least the DVLA number plates censor pick numbers that vaguely resemble the word. Very vaguely sometimes...

SEXRXRR? Nah.

Search for Legendary A 1 Private Number Plates

Many of you will be familiar with at least part of the history of A 1, probably the "holy Grail" of UK private number plates. The story goes that this London number was issued in 1903 to Earl Russell, who displayed it on a Napier motor car. Several books and internet pages have documented various versions of the registration's subsequent history, chronicling its movements between a series of private and corporate owners, and ending with its reported sale to a member of a foreign royal family in 2005. The widely circulated tale tells that A 1 was assigned to a white Bentley for the use of its royal owner, however current data indicates that A 1 now resides upon a Black Mini Cooper.

Over the past few years, Regtransfers has been approached by many journalists and members of the public requesting firm confirmation of the status of A 1. Some of these people have been interested in the possibility of the mark ever coming onto the market again, while the media have often wanted to include A 1 in various articles about car registrations.

The recent low profile of A 1 has contributed to a certain sense of mystery regarding its current situation. Enterprising plate-watchers who have kept tabs on the number have been surprised by its apparent transfer to a Mini: a nice enough car, but perhaps not what one would expect to find kitted out with the UK's ultimate distinguished registration.

Clearly, many people would dearly love to know for sure where A 1 is, who now owns it, if it will ever be sold again, why it is assigned to a Mini and whether or not the bearer vehicle is in daily use so they might have a chance of spotting this superstar plate. Regtransfers is trying to find a way to contact the current owner, or their representative with a view to asking if we may have a little information which we can share with the UK's personal number plates enthusiasts.

Any contact would, of course, be conducted with total respect for the privacy of the owner. That said, we really would be delighted if we could get just a little more information to bring the history of A 1 firmly and accurately up to date.

Regtransfers is offering a cash bounty to anyone who provides information leading to successful, confirmed contact with the current owner. Again, we emphasise that the owner’s privacy will be fully respected.

Anyone with information is invited to contact Regtransfers.co.uk at a1@regtransfers.co.uk, or to call 01582 470089.

Yay! It's Freebie Time Again!

Once again, Regtransfers.co.uk is proud to announce the latest issue of our FREE magazine, Regtransfers.co.uk: The World of Personal Number Plates.

This time we feature an interview with Theo Paphitis, the entrepreneur best known for his his connections with stationery chain Ryman, lingerie chain La Senza, Millwall FC and, of course, BBC TV's Dragons' Den. Theo is the second of the Dragons to appear in our pages and this series of interviews is proving very popular indeed. Also in this issue: an interview with 'Deadly' Doug Ellis, former chairman of Aston Villa FC; an article about Maybach cars, the ultimate in motoring luxury; readers' stories; news and comment from the world of personalised vehicle registrations and car number plates; listings of the very best numbers currently available in the UK; informative and entertaining number plates articles and, of course, the regular column contributed by the Registration Numbers Club.

All that, and more, completely free of charge! Copies are leaving the office in a veritable torrent, so order your free magazine now to avoid disappointment.

The Number Plates Oracle

Regtransfers.co.uk is probably responsible for sharing more useful information about UK car registrations and number plates than anyone in the country - even more than DVLA. Have you ever tried to find the answer to a simple number plates-related question on their website? Sheesh...

Seriously, we do our best to provide all the information and advice you could need, and we take special care with the details in our press and media section. We like to see the press getting their facts right when they write about our industry.

Len Stout is one of our main evangelists. Not only is he a big fan of private car registrations (he owns S7 OUT, the best "Stout" plate you could hope to find), Len is also very knowledgeable on the subject.

For the last couple of years, Len has been the semi-resident, guest number plates expert for BBC 3 Counties Radio, and he is frequently asked to go into the station to answer listeners' questions about car registrations and number plates. He even sticks his neck out to give preliminary estimates of the possible values for some of the plates owned by callers to the station.

The pic above shows Len during his latest spot on the Lorna Milton Afternoon Show.

That show is, at the time of writing, probably still available via the BBC's online "Listen Again" service. Please visit the BBC website for details.

Of course, there's no real need to call a radio phone-in to get the very best advice on private regstrations and number plates. Regtransfers.co.uk's expert advisers are always ready to help on 01582 477333.