Private number plates - narc or normal? :-)

ThisIsWeird

Nebulous2 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

Nebulous2 said:

I moved from a big town, where private plates were rare, to a rural area where they are everywhere. 

Lots of them are company owned, the name of a fishing boat, or the name of farm. 

It's common for youngsters to get them for their first car, with their name. It's also common for older people to get them for significant life events - retirement for instance. 

It is simply a different cultural mindset. I don't have one, and likely never will, but I'm certainly less against them than I used to be. 

At work most people have them, but they aren't a topic of conversation. They are simply there. 

I agree with everything you say, Neb. And thank you.

Company owned? Cool. Fishing boat? Super-cool. Farm - a surprise, but - hey - if they can afford it, then cool. Retirement? Why not. Significant life event? Ok - I know someone from my past who has a plate that, heartbreakingly, commemorates their lost child. So I wouldn't have a word said against them.

None of the above is what this thread is about, tho'.

You've lost me a bit there - as many of those will be based on people's names, which I thought was what the thread was about.

If your father is a wealthy fisherman, and you get a new car for your 17th birthday, then the expectation is that it will also have a personal plate. Not to have one would be like having a cake without the topping.

If you have several farms and a large business selling seed potatoes internationally, then your business will have its name on the plate of several vehicles. You may also have a Range Rover with your two initials and a 1 after it. If that plate can be obtained at all. 

These are cultural decisions as I said, but they are also a display of status.  Where there are no private schools, and no areas with only million pound houses, then you need to differentiate yourself. 

That cascades down. I know someone who worked in the local hotel, while still at school, saved their earnings, and bought a private plate with their initials on retention, before having a car. 

In the past I would have sneered at most of that. However I now think the world is a big place, and there is room for lots of variety in it. They are doing no harm - which is worth a lot in my book..... 

I'm trying to narrow it down to personal plates that simply indicate or suggest the owner's name. It may well overlap with the name of their business or fishery or farm or whatevs, but I don't want to complicate matters.

I don't get the 'cultural' bit, as if all successful fisherfolk would automatically try and illustrate this via the front of their car. This could well be the case, I don't know, and another thread on a different forum might wish to look at this, as they would for young farmers, for example, possibly another family career move where it may seem important to demonstrate achievement and status. I just don't know.

No idea, either, where having RR1 on your Range Rover or Rolls might lie. As I said, I'm trying to keep things simple.

So, if you have a PNP which indicates your own personal name, I wish to ask 'why'? I'd like to know how it makes the owner feel - what do they believe it transmits about them, the person behind the wheel?  And also, what is the reality of how it's perceived by onlookers?

That's it.

 

ThisIsWeird

Car_54 said:

So what exactly is this thread “about”?

What does “Narc” mean? - narcotics, narcissus?

 Largely a glib reference to 'narcissist', in order to make a cute subject heading. True 'narcissism' is a more complex issue.

What's the thread about? Human psychology.

I think if folk were to answer honestly and bluntly, from either side, it might become clear. 8 pages in, and I don't think anyone has actually come on to declare their PNPness, so it hasn't been very successful. 

Interesting, tho'.