Do you want to buy a Jersey classic?
No, we’re not talking about a classic Jersey tomato, slice of pizza or breakfast sandwich that has a meat called pork roll or Taylor ham, depending where you live in the state.
We’re talking something much more permanent -- the blue license plate with sand yellow letters that graced Garden State cars and trucks between 1979 and 1991.
This was the license plate slapped on countless Chevys and Civics when “Hungry Heart,” “Glory Days,” “Tunnel of Love,” or any of the other 20 some odd top 100 Bruce Springsteen songs blasted from their stereos and radios in the 80s. Time for some big hair?
Those cars are gone, but two state legislators want that 1980s license plate to live on.
State Senator Kristin Corrado (R-Passaic) and Assemblyman Kevin Rooney (R-Bergen) introduced bills Monday to authorize the MVC to produce and sell the retro license plates.
Both legislators said their separate bills are responding to requests from residents.
The most requests for the blue plate came from car collectors and enthusiasts, Rooney said, who owned a classic Ford Mustang and Chevy Corvette in the past and admits to having had a blue license plate on his first car.
“I’ve had dozens upon dozen of emails and calls about it,” he said. “I go to car shows and am asked, ‘How are you making out (with the license plate bill)?’”
Corrado’s bill had similar origins.
“The idea to revive New Jersey’s vintage license plate was recommended by a constituent,” she said. “Various states have brought back retro license plates and found there to be great demand. In fact, these plates have proven to be very profitable.”
There’s a long road before the baby blue plate can join the other speciality license plates offered by the MVC. First, there has to be enough of a demand by drivers to cover the $25,000 cost to design, produce and market the throwback license plate, before any are made.
Classic car enthusiasts are the most likely drivers who will want to adorn their restored cars with a vintage license plate, Rooney said. The plate would cost $50 to buy and an additional $10 annually, added to the vehicle registration fee.
“I believe the public will embrace it, based on the communications I’ve had. I see a desire to maintain our heritage and history,” he said. “This remembers our history and embraces the past.”
Since the proposed laws require sales of specialty license plates to cover their costs, Corrado said there is little cost or financial risk to the State.
“The way the legislation is structured, there’s no reason not to do it,” she said.
Car collectors may embrace the blue license plate more than drivers did when it came out, said Dave Nicholson, a license plate historian who operates a national license plate history website.
“I remember the plate being the current issue back in the day and thinking it was pretty ugly. The color combination is weird and compliments almost no car color,” he said. “It definitely feels like there’s a love/hate with that plate. I know a couple Jersey collectors who think it’s the greatest plate ever issued, but I think they’re in the minority.”
It replaced the iconic cream-colored license plate with black lettering that had been used since 1959.
But New Jersey wouldn’t be the first state to issue a throwback to one of its own license plates. That honor goes to California and Montana, Nicholson said.
“They have an extra-fee, yellow-on-black plate that resembles the 1963 (plate) and is very popular out there. The ’63 California base is far more universally beloved than the ’79 N.J., though,” he said. “Montana also lets motorists choose from any one of the previous passenger base (license) plates, back to 1987.”
The bills are waiting for a hearing by the State Senate and Assembly transportation committees.
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
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Totally rad! Legislators want to bring back 1980s blue license plates. - NJ.com
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