You’ve been waiting for it.
It’s here.
To kick off your weekend.
More license plates.
Yes, since Monday we’ve been power ranking the license plates, and we’re back today to finish off what’s left to the east of the Mississippi: the Great Lakes.
If you’ve missed the rest of the series, here you go:
New England
The Mid-East States
The Southeast
The South
The Great Plains
The Mountain West
The West Coast
If you didn’t, well, thanks for coming back. We’re off:
6. Ohio
Goodness gracious, Ohio. What do you think you’re doing over there?
This license plate looks like the wallpaper at a rest stop, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is the wallpaper at Ohio rest stops (which are pretty nice, by the way). Nobody cares about all your words, and nobody’s going to be able to read all them, and if you want to pay tribute to the Wright Brothers go look at what North Carolina did and don’t make the word “Balance” one of the focal points of your plate.
This would be a great title slide for a middle schooler’s powerpoint about the state, but on the back of a car, it looks like someone in Columbus gave Nike free reign and access to Ohio’s Wikipedia page. Which is fine in college football but has no place in the license plate game.
Good on Ohio, though, for sneaking its shape into one of the O’s. That almost got it up one more spot on the list.
5. Michigan
When I think of Michigan in a positive light, I think of either picturesque tree-lined lakes, the gritty might of Detroit, or Home Improvement.
This license plate calls to mind none of those things.
Going for a classic look is one thing. Going for a Hampton Inn look is another. It’s a boring plate, and the Pure Michigan logo’s overused. That M doesn’t look cool enough to justify barraging the greater Midwest with it for this past decade and a half.
Good job not doing too much. That happens a lot with license plates. But in this case, you did too little.
4. Minnesota
Minnesota’s license plate is one of the few I can examine in person, because I’m looking at it right now on my wall, and what it’s making me realize is that the double helix is fainter—at least in this case—than it looks from pictures online.
Still not a great aspect of license plates, though.
Beyond that, Minnesota’s license plate is fine. It isn’t too much, it hides the fact that it’s advertising the tourism website (at least I didn’t notice it right away), there are trees and a canoe on there even if you’ll never see them. It isn’t anything that’ll blow you away, but it’s a decent license plate. Replacement-level.
3. Illinois
Illinois’ license plate features a looming Abraham Lincoln, which is something I’d hope we can all support. It’s a little too faint for my liking (I’d prefer him depicted as a muscular beast holding the union together as its flaws threaten to push it apart), but he’s there, and he’s looming, and I’m cool with it.
The dual skyline of Chicago and Springfield is kind of funny too, because I forget those two cities are in the same state. Could be better. Could be Ohio’s.
2. Indiana
Indiana’s license plate looks like it was designed by Leslie Knope. The covered bridge looks like a bus. It’s just a cartoon. But it’s full of wonder, and it’s charming, and the little clouds are happy clouds. Well done over there.
1. Wisconsin
Strong. Humble. Unique.
The focal points of the Wisconsin plate are, of course, that it never seems to change, that it’s colored similarly to the Badgers (the athletic teams, not the animals), and that it talks milk there at the bottom.
But even beyond that, you get a nice little farm, some birds hanging around, and a sailboat to remind you that Wisconsin’s got a lot of lakes (including Lake Michigan, ever heard of it?).
Wisconsin stays true to itself with the plate, and that’s what you’ve got to do to win your region.
Ohio License Plate Image taken from Wikipedia, where it’s credited to Mister Upstate.
Michigan License Plate Image taken from Wikipedia, where it’s labeled Public Domain.
Minnesota License Plate Image taken from Wikipedia, where it’s credited to www.theus50.com.
Illinois License Plate Image taken from Wikipedia, where it’s credited to Zcarstvnz.
Indiana License Plate Image taken from Wikipedia, where it’s credited to kjjims.
Wisconsin License Plate Image taken from Wikipedia, where it’s credited to Rouge Falconer.
