So called ‘vanity plates’ – registration plates which are more desirable than your run-of-the-mill dealer-issued humdrum, are like Marmite – they are yellow and black.

Private Number Plates

I jest of course (they are also white and black): such numbers polarise opinion as much as Jordan (the model, not the Middle Eastern country). Some view them as the ultimate accessory for your automotive pride and joy, others see them as the posturing of either chinless wonders or spivs.

Back in the day, when you were buying your new motor, it was easy enough to get a decent plate. You simply got the secretary at the dealership to hassle the DVLA when they were registering the car. Failing that, you nipped into the local scrappy, spotted number plates you liked the look of, and nabbed the log book out of the passenger seat of whatever car it was attached to. The plate was yours.

In the 1990s the DVLA, fearing they were being diddled and sniffing a money-making opportunity, moved in for the kill to feed the Government mothership with more hapless punters’ money, and since then the industry has inflated beyond expectations.

These days the private plate is an extremely valuable commodity, with the top tier ones such as ‘IT 1’ on the market for £350,000, as much as a detached house, and the current highest-grossing plate, ‘51 NGH’ going to (I imagine) a Mr Singh for £254,000 in 2006.

There are some number combinations you won’t find for sale anywhere, due to their perceived ‘offensiveness’, such as the Northern Irish registration series ‘KIL’, ‘CIG’ and ‘NAZ ’. I personally have to question the logic of banning ‘CIG 1’ because it resembles a slang term for a cigarette, and yet allowing the plate ‘B18 DCK’ to be launched. What is the government trying to tell us?
Furthermore, the DVLA is now relaxing its guidelines with the result that any plates containing ‘SEX’ will soon be for sale (although whether this will get the plate’s owner any is open to question).

There is some merit, of course, in having a decent registration number.
Firstly, it achieves the desired effect of saying ‘Look at me, I’m great.’

Secondly, they are often easier to remember. When I used to work in an Audi dealership, the number of customers booking their A4s in for service who didn’t know the reg number of the car they’d owned for the last four years was mind-boggling. When the A8 owners arrived, they had no bother:
‘Registration? Ah yes….it’s ‘1 RULE’.’

Not to mention the TT owners…’Sorry, Camilla darling, some oik is asking me the reg of my car, wanted the servants to bring it to the garage for me, but they’re all on holiday….it‘s, er…..’B1 TCH’.’

Thirdly, it makes the car itself look better, like a flat, yellow, rectangular set of blinging alloy wheels.

So, we’d all do it if we had the cash. Or would we? A cursory glance at a few of the DVLA-approved sellers’ websites confirms such greats as Paul Daniels and Vinnie Jones as customers, with the latter saying, and I quote, ‘I think number plates are just brilliant.’

Author:  Richard Craig

Number Plate Replacement

Description: Whatever sort of Number Plate you want, be it for your car or motorbike, a show plate or one that you want just for fun, 4Plates can help. http://www.4plates.co.uk/

Music consumption has changed enormously over the last decade, with digital song files now coming in umpteen different formats and on numerous types of media. Ambitiously, Pioneer’s DEH-P4100SD aims to cover all the bases.

Pioneer DEH-P4100SD Car stereo with SD slot and UBB port

Alongside the traditional CD drive, this is Pioneer’s first car stereo head unit to include an SD card slot. On top of this it also accepts devices via USB, with support for both portable audio players and simple storage drives.

Whether on SD, USB or CD, most mainstream file types can be played, including MP3s and AACs. The only lossless format available is 16-bit, 48kHz WAV, and none of the more esoteric options such as FLAC or Ogg Vorbis are supported, but the system does have the most common options covered.

The SD card slot will also read SDHC memory, allowing for capacities of up to 32GB for a truly jukebox-sized music collection. It has, however, positioned the slot rather annoyingly behind the faceplate, forcing you to remove it to swap cards.

Control focuses on the rotary commander, which works rather like a joystick, except that you can rotate it as well. Conveniently, the unit can also operate certain types of iPod devices directly with the addition of an appropriate USB dock. Pioneer also offers its own cables for many iPods – the list of those compatible is extensive, but fairly selective about which software versions will work.

This model doesn’t just rely on its next-gen digital sound file support – it’s a serious audiophile car hi-fi as well. The amplifier offers four 50W outputs, with Delta Sigma 24-bit D/A converters and Advanced Sound Retriever (ASR) technology. The latter is particularly handy for compressed audio, as it automatically restores the harmonics lost during compression, particularly the high and low frequencies.

You do pay a small premium for the plethora of connections though. The P4100SD’s USB-only sister product, the DEH-P3100UB, is a tenner cheaper, and other USB-equipped head units can be snapped up for under £100.

However, a large SD card will give you much greater storage than any CD changer, without the need for an extra unit in your car boot, and it’s simpler than having to attach an iPod. So the Pioneer DEH-P4100SD may be a little on the pricey side, but it wins hands down for convenience