Oddball gray market/diplomat car sightings

[JLJetta]

Last time i was in DC i spotted an Alfa Romeo GT with Diplomat plates:

Looks like what the BMW 1xx should have been, minus the Kidney Grill.

[Snake Hips]

Looks like a Honda Pilot with an eating disorder..

Well it is made at AM General, otherwise known as the purveyors of the H2- and -3 HUMMER

[AKADriver]

I've seen a VW Lupo, a couple Polos, a few E36 wagons, an E36 323ti, lots of poverty-spec euro-spec VWs (black rub strips, 1.6 badges)... not too much non-German stuff. A couple SEATs, an Alfa 156. Oddly enough half the time they're on regular MD/VA plates. Usually when I see Diplomat or foreign plates they're on US cars. Someone in my old neighborhood drove a US-spec CR-V with UK plates. I've seen a bunch of NATO plates... euro fanboys would cream, they look like German plates but say USA in the blue bar on the left and have the NATO compass symbol.

[Hybrid_Hatch]

[hardcore4life]

once i seen a mondeo on i-90 it had detroit plates

[gti_matt]

Just looks like an Equinox with a different name on it to me...

[gti_matt]

once i seen a mondeo on i-90 it had detroit plates

The City of Detroit issues plates?

[Marcao]

we have RCZ as well. in Brazil... BRL 139k.. ~ USD 70k

that saveiro.. it´s the fifth generation

[Lucian1988]

dacia sandero spotted in NOVA last year... i still wonder how they got it here since its got VA tags on it and all

[NoDubJustYet]

I've seen a bunch of NATO plates... euro fanboys would cream, they look like German plates but say USA in the blue bar on the left and have the NATO compass symbol.

Those are plates for US personnel stationed in Germany... They're actually no longer used.

They can be driven on in the US upon moving back, before you've been inspected/registered/plated in your new state.

[invisiblewar]

I've seen a few Nissan XTrails in Miami before
I also saw a pretty cool Smart car driving down the street one evening.

[Bakounine]

In Ottawa, we do see lots of red (diplomatic) plates, but very few actually drive cars brought from oversea. What I do find interesting though are returning Canadian diplomats with genuine euro plates front and back. They usually keep them for a month or two before returning to regular Ontario/Quebec plates.

When I was a kid, my neighbours went to the USSR and then Poland. Before going to Poland, they bought a brand spanking new Nissan Axxess and brought it over. When they returned 2 or 3 years after, the poor Nissan was so beat up, it looked like was 20 years old.

Another friend of mine lived in the Netherlands for a few years. His parents returned with a Saab 900 and a B3 Passat and kept the Euro plates for a few months upon their return. These cars were bought in Europe, but were Canadian spec, hence they had the ''square'' Euro plates.

[evosky]

Last time i was in DC i spotted an Alfa Romeo GT with Diplomat plates:

definitely have seen one of these guys about 2 years ago in the area. never saw it again. it had a yellow ribbon decal on the back (for the troops) and had VA tags. if it's still around, how did they get around the 1 year rule for imported/diplomat cars? i'm assuming there's a loophole they've figured out

[NoDubJustYet]

Visiting diplomats or foreign military should be able to have the cars in the US as long as needed... They can't stay in the US once their tour is over unless they sell them to someone with the same status.

[AKADriver]

Those are plates for US personnel stationed in Germany... They're actually no longer used.

They can be driven on in the US upon moving back, before you've been inspected/registered/plated in your new state.

Yup, I know what they are. They're similar to the SOFA plates in Japan which look like a regular Japanese plate but have a roman letter like 'Y' instead of a Japanese kana. Though I've yet to see a legal set of those on a US car.

[wh1te09gti]

i dont remember seeing that many out of place diplomat cars when i lived in dc last summer. the ony one i remember now was...



sans bitchez. i saw it all the time and liked it a lot.

WPR... plates Warsaw Poland You will find most beautiful ladies there

[bzcat]

dacia sandero spotted in NOVA last year... i still wonder how they got it here since its got VA tags on it and all

You go to DMV with your title, you walk out with plates

Diplomat plates are for diplomats only. If you are foreign national living or visiting in the US as a private person (e.g. not a diplomat), you get normal plates. You can keep the car in the US for 1 year, or as long as your visa is valid.

[initiation]

I got to drive a Ford Mondeo ST220 at work a couple of times. It had Baja California plates, manual trans, and looked just like this.

[Chapel]

Diplomats usually have the State Department license plates around here





And usually they are boring run-of-the-mill econoboxes, like the guy in my neighborhood who has a Seat Leon. Why bother importing basic transportation like a Seat?

But then there is another guy in the neighborhood who has a MK1 Lotus Elise, but has regular Georgia plates though he may have had connections from when Lotus USA HQ was here in town.

If you have these plates are you allowed to park wherever the **** you want?
the Columbian Embassy is across the street from my work and they are ALWAYS parked in the fire lane EVERY DAY and they NEVER get towed or ticketed

[NoDubJustYet]

Pretty much... The diplomat plate is going to get you a lot further than the consul plate though.

That stuff doesn't fly in othe countries though. If the US did these things that you see in other countries the State Department would be taken to task. Gotta love double standards.

[hardcore4life]

The City of Detroit issues plates?

I ment Michigan lol i was going to say the car was from Detroit since it was a Ford manufacturer plate

[Chapel]

Pretty much... The diplomat plate is going to get you a lot further than the consul plate though.

That stuff doesn't fly in othe countries though. If the US did these things that you see in other countries the State Department would be taken to task. Gotta love double standards.

it's mostly CONSUL plates... and it drives me nuts.
they're all piles of **** though. Mostly Mazda 6i and older Corollas

[bzcat]

Pretty much... The diplomat plate is going to get you a lot further than the consul plate though.

That stuff doesn't fly in othe countries though. If the US did these things that you see in other countries the State Department would be taken to task. Gotta love double standards.

http://theexpiredmeter.com/2010/01/u...-ticket-fines/

The Top Ten United Nations Parking Ticket Scofflaws
Country Amount Owed
1. Egypt $1,929,142
2. Kuwait $1,266,901
3. Nigeria $1,019,998
4. Indonesia $692,200
5. Brazil $608,733
6. Morocco $582,883
7. Pakistan $575,108
8. Senegal $486,929
9. Sudan $475,970
10. Angola $438,486

[HideYoKids]

...I have a set of US Consul plates for sale to the highest bidder

[ttvick]

If anyone even gets it

[NoDubJustYet]

A German plated Jaguar owned by a fictional character in a mediocre Showtime series?

[DJMRDARK]

"Oddball gray market/diplomat car sightings"

...also known as "welcome to DC".

[DJMRDARK]

WPR... plates Warsaw Poland You will find most beautiful ladies there

Just not in that picture. Everything but the face.

[RacingManiac]

If anyone even gets it

Homeland?

[DUTCHMANia]

WPR... plates Warsaw Poland You will find most beautiful ladies there

they should have put a few in that picture then

[case m]

dacia sandero spotted in nova last year... I still wonder how they got it here since its got va tags on it and all

great news!!