I've Noticed A Thing About Seattle

"Jack Does Cars" (jackdoescars) 06/18/2015 at 17:02 • Filed to: None

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Since coming out here on Monday, and exploring Seattle and Bainbridge Island, I noticed a thing.

Many Volvo owners put Swedish license plates on their cars, and cover them with Washington State plates. It’s an odd sight, and I don’t see the point of it, but whatever floats your boat, I guess.

(I couldn’t find a photo on GIS of what I’m describing, so oops. I’ll also make a, “Cars of Seattle/Bainbridge,” post when I’m back home)

B_dol > Jack Does Cars 06/18/2015 at 17:11

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Same goes for all the BMW/Merc bros in CA. Might as well stamp yourself as a TOOL upfront.

Even if you were one of the few who actually experienced Euro delivery , keep the plate up front, ditch the rear.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Jack Does Cars 06/18/2015 at 17:16

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This is how you’re supposed to do it.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > B_dol 06/18/2015 at 17:19

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I agree. Though, the German plate is on the front still because the Ontario one beats the shit out of the paint on the air dam.

lone_liberal > Jack Does Cars 06/18/2015 at 17:25

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Seattleites trying to look more sophisticated than thou by doing stupid shit? You don’t say? You can say a lot of bad things about my side of the state, and I do all of the time, but we tend to lack pretentious assholes like that. We just have people pretending to be a different race. Oof.

B_dol > TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts 06/18/2015 at 17:28

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This is doing it right. I should clarify I meant mount your foreign plate on the front of the car and domestic on the back (no stacking).

Jack Does Cars > lone_liberal 06/18/2015 at 17:34

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I know, it’s crazy and simply unbelievable. I’ve heard that nobody in Seattle is pretentious in any way at all, and I’m 99% sure it’s true.

My grandmother lives in Yakima, and she gets a bit cross whenever I mention how terrible Yakima actually is. Nonetheless, I’ve heard that Spokane isn’t as terrible.

Amoore100 > Jack Does Cars 06/18/2015 at 17:36

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But Svenska! :D (That is a lot of XC60s in one place...)

Jack Does Cars > B_dol 06/18/2015 at 17:37

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Yes, that’s exactly what I’m talking about.

A friend did the Euro-delivery with an E90 335i in 2007 (which he also opted for the BMW Performance Thingy, at the factory near Greenville, SC), and they didn’t let him keep the Euro plates. He received it with South Carolina temp tags.

Jack Does Cars > TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts 06/18/2015 at 17:37

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Your Capri? I like it.

Jack Does Cars > Amoore100 06/18/2015 at 17:39

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It’s a photo off of GIS, so I don’t know where it was taken. I do like the XC60, though.

Jack Does Cars > TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts 06/18/2015 at 17:39

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Agreed.

duurtlang > Jack Does Cars 06/18/2015 at 17:41

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The strange thing is that they’re using Swedish temp plates. These are the normal ones:

T5Killer > Jack Does Cars 06/18/2015 at 17:41

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It makes me wonder do European or Japanese car folks with American cars rock US plates?

lone_liberal > Jack Does Cars 06/18/2015 at 17:48

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I would say that Spokane is better than when I was a kid but it still tends toward provincial and xenophobic thinking. I have spent almost no time in Yakima so I can’t say anything there but I do have a friend who grew up on a hops farm in the area. He doesn’t have much love for it.

Jack Does Cars > T5Killer 06/18/2015 at 17:57

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That would probably be funny to see. If it would be anywhere in Europe, it would probably be Sweden, because the Swedes love American cars/culture.

And I was watching some YouTube video a while ago of a 2012 or 2013 Dodge Challenger driving around Japanese mountain roads with Virginia plates. My first thought was a member of the military based in Japan.

Spasoje > Jack Does Cars 06/18/2015 at 17:57

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There’s a specific reason - those are all Overseas Delivery cars!

Volvo supplies you with those red temp plates only when you pick up your new car directly at the factory in Sweden. You’ll notice that those Swedish temp plates can fit US license plate brackets...

Once the car makes its way to the US, the plates are still on the car. Choosing to keep those OSD plates beneath the US ones they eventually get is a popular choice among Volvo owners everywhere, not just in Seattle - it’s a momento of the experience they had.

Why you see it a lot in Seattle is b/c there are a lot of Volvos in Seattle anyway, and OSD is actually much more cost-effective than taking delivery at a dealership.

(Notice that the US plate frame on this car reads, “Gothenburg Sweden Factory Delivery Center” - I’m guessing most of those Seattle Volvos you saw wear one)

Also: http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php…

Jack Does Cars > duurtlang 06/18/2015 at 17:57

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The red ones are temp tags? Interesting...

Jack Does Cars > lone_liberal 06/18/2015 at 17:58

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So Spokane is like the entire state of Montana?

Spasoje > duurtlang 06/18/2015 at 18:01

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They are from Volvo’s Overseas Delivery program! Most owners choose to keep the red ones the car actually wore beneath the US ones they eventually get.

Jack Does Cars > Spasoje 06/18/2015 at 18:01

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Oh, thanks. That’s actually pretty cool. And because of that exact reason, I will cut them some slack.

I plan on buying a new, European, vehicle at some point in my life, and I indeed do plan on doing the Euro Delivery.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Jack Does Cars 06/18/2015 at 18:03

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Its my fathers. He’s building a new engine for it right now. He brought it over as excess baggage when he left the military base in Lahr Germany. The Black Widow he calls it. 2.8 litre turbo. Last time it was dyno’d it was good for about 300hp at the ground. Pretty peppy in a car that weighs about 2200lbs.

Jack Does Cars > TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts 06/18/2015 at 18:05

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I see a turbo lurking under there, yes?

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Jack Does Cars 06/18/2015 at 18:05

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The JPS was brought over as excess military baggage when the Canadian Forces base closed in Lahr Germany. My old man bought a 20 foot sea can and sent the car over with all its spare parts. It doesnt get driven enough for the cops to bother him about the lack of Ontario plates on the front. They bother him about the lack of side marker lights more than anything else.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Jack Does Cars 06/18/2015 at 18:07

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...I live on Bainbridge... What area are you in? Feel free to drop me a line.

Also, my understanding is that these are temporary delivery plates. They do this in other places, too, but it is mainly to say, “Hey, look at me, I went to take delivery of my car at the factory before it was shipped back here.”. Covering it allows them to drive in the US legally while simultaneously showing this off.

The culture here is weird, no doubt about it.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Jack Does Cars 06/18/2015 at 18:08

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Oh yes. Its an old Garrett sourced from a Scania truck of all things. Its good for 300hp at the ground at about 13 pounds of boost.

Spaceball-Two > lone_liberal 06/18/2015 at 18:09

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Really dude? That was a bit much.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Jack Does Cars 06/18/2015 at 18:10

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Have fun.

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/the-john-playe…

Jack Does Cars > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 06/18/2015 at 18:17

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‘Bout a mile from Safeway. I won’t have any time to meet up, because I’ve got to watch my brothers tonight, going into the city all day tomorrow, and I leave for home early Saturday morning. I really like it here on Bainbridge. Everybody is so nice, and lots of cool cars.

You’ll recognize some of the spots in the photodump that I will be posting on Sunday (probably).

Yeah, I figured that out. I saw a red XC90 with the Swedish plates in front of Pegasus Coffee this morning, a gray C30 with the plates yesterday in front of the Best Western, and a blue S60 with the plates in the ferry terminal parking lot. Culture is weird.

duurtlang > Jack Does Cars 06/18/2015 at 18:24

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Well, front plates are mandatory everywhere and US plates are typically smaller than European ones. So mounting US plates behind a European one would make little sense. I have, very rarely, seen US plates behind a window or something like that. The biggest difference is that there are virtually no American cars in Europe, relatively speaking. Save for some PT Cruisers and Chrysler minivans, but those are very rarely driven by enthusiasts.

And no, a Euro-Ford usually isn’t seen as an American car. Despite the American badge. Take the Capri posted here as an example; American badge, not considered as an American car.

Jack Does Cars > duurtlang 06/18/2015 at 18:27

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I have seen photos of that gigantic American car show in Sweden, and saw a few cars with old California or New York plates on them. I think they just put them on for the show, and take them off when it’s over.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Jack Does Cars 06/18/2015 at 18:34

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Yeah, I told Mr. Regular in an email that I’d let him drive both my cars (plus I knew someone that would definitely let him review one of their boring clapped-out cars) and that coming here was worth it just for the incredible number of interesting cars he’d see. I really think it’s worth the trip over...

I absolutely guarantee you’ve been right in front of my place. Small world. I know every one of the places you listed, too (mind you, if you live here for even a little bit, you will know almost every business in town).

Have you tried the Fish and Chips at The Pub or visited Bay Hay & Feed?

lone_liberal > Spaceball-Two 06/18/2015 at 18:37

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Yeah, you’re right. That was way harsher than I intended it to be.

Jack Does Cars > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 06/18/2015 at 19:28

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Oh cool? Where’s your general area, if you don’t mind me asking?

Also, what your two interesting vehicles?And in The Smoking Tire podcast, Mr. Regular said he wanted to drive a SAAB 900, and there is no shortage of those up here. I’ve seen five different 900’s in the last two days. Along with a mint Plymouth Sundance, MG-B, Range Rover Classic, Subaru GL, and the wonderful Bainbridge Taxi Ford Aerostars. Word’s cannot describe my love for the car culture up here.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Jack Does Cars 06/18/2015 at 19:43

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I live across from Safeway.

I might work with the owner of the MG-B, though there are at least a few of them here. Aside from a lot of interesting newer cars (ex: Tesla model S), some other particularly-notable cars include some Defenders and a 60s Lotus Europa. The R8 moved somewhere else.

There’s a strong subculture of owning/maintaining older cars as long as possible here. There are older (70s and some earlier) Mercedes coupes running around everywhere, it seems.

My daily is a ‘15 Focus ST (new design, better interior), while my other car is a very-low-mileage ‘00 Lincoln LS V8 (the LS won a “best car under $x” challenge recently).

Jack Does Cars > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 06/18/2015 at 20:27

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Heh. You’re a mile or so from me. Nifty.

There’s an abundance of Tesla’s here, and I saw the white Defender 110 in front of Blackbird (amazing pies, by the way).

That MG-B was a white rubber bumper. It looked to be in good shape. And I agree that the ‘15 ST is better looking, and I will forever believe that the LS was underrated. Relatively inexpensive RWD, American luxury sedan, with a manual transmission? Yes. So much yes.

Jack Does Cars > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 06/18/2015 at 20:28

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Worst photo ever of MG-B.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Jack Does Cars 06/19/2015 at 00:16

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Not my coworker. His is the same vintage but red. BI: Where British roadsters are actually British.

Thanks. :-)

I hope your visit has been fun and that you have a safe trip back.

Jack Does Cars > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 06/19/2015 at 00:42

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Thank you very much, I’m flying through MSP, so it won’t be too bad.

And Italian cars are actually Italian (eg: Fiat 124 Spider going through the McDonalds drive through about an hour ago), and Swedish cars are...well, we’ve already gone over this.