.... there is a purple Mazda 3 running around impersonating my beloved (and decidedly more red than purple) Miata. Whilst running red lights.



Thank you to the very nice lady in the Vehicle Mismatch department for figuring out that the alpha characters on the plate from the red light camera are actually CE, not CC.

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1961 220b: first project car - sold.
2000 CLK 430: first modern Benz - sold.
2001 CLK 55: OMG the torque!!! - sold
1972 280SE 4.5: Baby Gustav
1991 300TE 4Matic: Gretel the Snow Bunny - sold
1978 300SD: Katz the Free Man - given away
1980 Redhead: Darling Wife

It's bad enough getting fined when you actually do speed or run red lights in the Peoples Republic of MD.
Truly insulting to be notified for someone else's aggressive driving. Glad you were able to speak with somebody who could see!

Hooray for any victory of common sense in the Peoples' Republic.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

That's one heck of a coincidence! What do the alpha characters signify? Are they randomly generated or do they represent a particular registration type (passenger car, combination, commercial, etc.)?

And WOW! You got to talk to a competent DMV employee?

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

The letters are not significant, but they are sequential. From what I can find, the Bay Plate (specialty plate with a blue heron, extra fees go to Chesapeake Bay Fund) was XXXXX C/B (Chesapeake Bay), then XXXXX B/Y (Bay), then XXXXX CA, XXXXX CC, XXXXX CD, XXXXX CE.

So the Mazda 3's plate was the 20,000th Bay Plate issued after mine

And, matter of fact, all my dealings with MVA (our version of DMV) here in Maryland have been pleasant - some down right enjoyable. Haven't encountered a single employee that wasn't competent, polite, and professional (I've been to both the Frederick and Germantown offices).

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1961 220b: first project car - sold.
2000 CLK 430: first modern Benz - sold.
2001 CLK 55: OMG the torque!!! - sold
1972 280SE 4.5: Baby Gustav
1991 300TE 4Matic: Gretel the Snow Bunny - sold
1978 300SD: Katz the Free Man - given away
1980 Redhead: Darling Wife

That's only what "they" want you to think. The letters are coded to a transducer attached to your vehicle so the drones can track you. Running a red light will soon be a capital offense with justice swiftly administered by stealth drones. You will just disappear--and no one will know why....

Yep--that's the Peoples' Republic i9n the "Free" State.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

An in person visit to the MVA on Clopper Rd on a busy day near month-end can be quite an eye opening experience. Quite an interesting blend of humanity shows up close to the deadlines.

So can a week end evening in the emergency room of any metro area hospital---but I'd rather not...

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Very good comparison!

It is even worse if there is a confluence of a warm night, a full moon and the welfare checks came out ---- all the same day.

Just anyone that works in the ER or the police Department. lolz

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

I was in the ER at Montgomery General in Olney, MD on a night like that several years ago.

The head nurse that night made a huge impression on me with her ability to handle excessively stressful situations.

Drunks, dopers, and chronic pain sufferers seeking meds seemed to be the majority and most obnoxious customers.

Screaming children accompanied by a mother & several siblings with non-life threatening conditions seemed to rank second.

Several DIY'ers with self inflicted wounds of one sort or another. (Me included )

A small percentage of very old & frail people, most by themselves. Various conditions, non of which were obvious as I lay & waited my turn. These folks arrived in ambulances, presumably from nursing homes. Very sad.

I'm determined to stay the hell out of that place!