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Latest Steve Jobs Mystery Revealed: How He Drove Without License Plates
Yahoo! Autos ^ | Oct 27, 2011 | Justin Hyde

Posted on 10/27/2011 7:44:06 PM PDT by Daffynition

The multitude of mysteries revealed following the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' death now includes one that puzzled car enthusiasts for years: How did Jobs get away with driving without a license plate? It was common knowledge that Jobs would park his Mercedes SL55 AMG in a handicapped spot at Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters, with nothing to identify his vehicle other than the tiny barcode that usually rests behind the rear license plate. According to Walter Isaacson's new biography, Jobs wanted to avoid having a plate for privacy reasons; and yet when having a license-less silver Mercedes became a kind of trademark, Jobs kept motoring without one "because I don't." [snip] You'll have to read at the link to find the answer. ;)

(Excerpt) Read more at autos.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Travel; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: apple; california; cars; cartax; licenseplates; macintosh; stevejobs
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To: Daffynition

So he was constantly driving a new car, nice new car smell from the plasticizers floating in the air - kind of thing that could give a guy cancer... hey wait a minute...


21 posted on 10/27/2011 8:15:16 PM PDT by Last Dakotan
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To: reagan_fanatic

Hebrews 9:27

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”

Live as he will, after which we are all equal.


22 posted on 10/27/2011 8:16:23 PM PDT by One Name
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To: Daffynition

Just another fact that proves how private of a person he was.


23 posted on 10/27/2011 8:16:31 PM PDT by Vicki (Washington State where anyone can vote .... illegals, non-residents, dead people, dogs, felons)
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To: Vicki

I don’t buy it.

*The best way to remain anonymous would be to keep the plates on. And this, in the end, is the great paradox of the mystery. Not displaying plates made Steve Jobs’ car just as conspicuous and identifiable as a man who, say, always wore jeans, a black turtleneck and New Balance sneakers.*

In these parts, you get temporary paper plates, until the metal ones arrive.


24 posted on 10/27/2011 8:19:46 PM PDT by Daffynition (“There are no compacts between lions and men, and wolves and lambs have no concord.” ~ Homer)
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To: Daffynition

If I was Jobs I would have driven some POS beater pickup truck! Make sure it’s mechanically fine but looks like it has been to hell and back.


25 posted on 10/27/2011 8:21:30 PM PDT by Jack Hydrazine (It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine!)
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To: Last Dakotan

I sang his praises, previously. For me, this puts a couple of chinks in his armor. Well, ya can’t take it with ya.


26 posted on 10/27/2011 8:22:08 PM PDT by Daffynition (“There are no compacts between lions and men, and wolves and lambs have no concord.” ~ Homer)
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To: Daffynition

Pretty inventive. Since the registration fee is $46 it wouldn’t rank high in the annals of tax evasion. The big tax, like the sales & use tax, would have been paid to the dealer upon receipt of the vehicle so there wasn’t any evasion of the sales tax. Also, by leasing a new vehicle every 6 months he was basically paying two times the sales tax on the car every year.

Sounds to me like he was pretty heavily subsidizing the California DMV, not cheating them out of anything.


27 posted on 10/27/2011 8:22:54 PM PDT by Oceander (If Romney is the GOP nominee, then Obama wins in 2012, either directly or by proxy)
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To: reagan_fanatic; Invisible_hand

>> They guy did what everyone wishes he could do: he lived like he pleased.
Agreed.>>

Ah yes, but he supported politicians who don’t think we should live the life WE please - and that’s the rub.


28 posted on 10/27/2011 8:23:29 PM PDT by C. Edmund Wright
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To: reagan_fanatic; Invisible_hand

>> They guy did what everyone wishes he could do: he lived like he pleased.
Agreed.>>

Ah yes, but he supported politicians who don’t think we should live the life WE please - and that’s the rub.


29 posted on 10/27/2011 8:23:33 PM PDT by C. Edmund Wright
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To: JoeFromCA
Bottom line: Nobody cares if you drive a car in CA with no license plates.

Bottom line: In California, the cops figure if you have no license plate you are probably an illegal alien and therefore a protected class. So why bother?

30 posted on 10/27/2011 8:28:42 PM PDT by Lancey Howard
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To: Daffynition

What were his last words? “Let ‘em eat license plates!”?


31 posted on 10/27/2011 8:30:07 PM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin (Freedom is the freedom to discipline yourself so others don't have to do it for you.)
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To: Jack Hydrazine

32 posted on 10/27/2011 8:30:11 PM PDT by Daffynition (“There are no compacts between lions and men, and wolves and lambs have no concord.” ~ Homer)
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

....”because I don’t.” ~S. Jobs


33 posted on 10/27/2011 8:32:54 PM PDT by Daffynition (“There are no compacts between lions and men, and wolves and lambs have no concord.” ~ Homer)
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To: Oceander

You don’t have property taxes in Cali?


34 posted on 10/27/2011 8:34:20 PM PDT by Daffynition (“There are no compacts between lions and men, and wolves and lambs have no concord.” ~ Homer)
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To: C. Edmund Wright

According to Gizmodo:

“I don’t care who you are-Lindsay Lohan or Governor Schwarzenegger-you have to display a plate or risk being pulled over or cited,” says state DMV spokeswoman Jan Mendoza.

This was the line echoed by CHP officers, traffic lawyers and DMV officials again and again. Not only did a legal precedent prove elusive, no one was even able to drum up a theoretical case where a public citizen-regardless or stature, office, or bank account size-could get away with non-display of plates.

“It simply wouldn’t happen,” says Mendoza of such an allowance.

Fine. But looking at nuances state law, traffic enforcement, and a few public records, the case of Steve Jobs’ perpetually missing plates becomes less mysterious.
***

First, it should be noted that it actually is legal is the state of California to drive without a license plate-for 90 days. Car dealerships generally have up to 30 days to file the necessary registration paperwork with the DMV when anyone buys a new or used car. Once received, those plates can take another 4-6 weeks to arrive at a person’s doorstep. Yes, in the interim you must display a temporary registration tag in front driver’s-side window, but it still grants you a degree of wiggle room.

Most local traffic enforcement officers admitted to being less than Bronsonian about singling out a car with no plates, using it more as an excuse to pull someone over if something else seemed suspicious.

“Normally, an officer will not pull over a car that looks new to check the registration,” notes Deputy Gregory Talyor of the Santa Clara Sherrif’s Office.

“Frankly, we have better things to do with our time,” says Cupertino Officer Sandra Powell.

Here’s the other thing: Even if you do get nabbed by the popo for failing to display your plates, the consequences are downright wimpy.

While the fine can go up to $65 (assuming everything else is in order and you don’t want to correct the infraction), in most cases, the worst you’ll get what’s known as a fix-it ticket. That’s essentially a $10 slap on the wrist if you can later prove that you’ve remedied the offense.


35 posted on 10/27/2011 8:37:28 PM PDT by Daffynition (“There are no compacts between lions and men, and wolves and lambs have no concord.” ~ Homer)
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To: Daffynition
Also, notice in the picture that the car is parked in a handicapped zone.

Jobs was notorious for this: he would park in a handicap spot right in front of the building. At some point, I think someone called the police, but they refused to tow the car.

Jobs could have parked the car in the building lobby if he wanted to. But, CA state (and federal?) law prohibited him from parking in a designated handicap zone.

36 posted on 10/27/2011 8:42:14 PM PDT by justlurking (The only remedy for a bad guy with a gun is a good WOMAN (Sgt. Kimberly Munley) with a gun)
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To: Jack Hydrazine

“If I was Jobs I would have driven some POS beater pickup truck!”

Isn’t that what Sam Walton drove?


37 posted on 10/27/2011 8:46:15 PM PDT by Big E
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To: Daffynition

If I never see another article about Steve Jobs it’ll be too soon.


38 posted on 10/27/2011 8:51:35 PM PDT by CaptainK (...please make it stop. Shake a can of pennies at it.)
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To: justlurking
notice in the picture that the car is parked in a handicapped zone.

It's also parked crooked. I can't stand people who are too inconsiderate to park their car straight.

39 posted on 10/27/2011 8:55:12 PM PDT by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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To: CaptainK

Until CA fixes this loophole........and I’ll venture there will be others to copycat Jobs’ PL8 H8TR.


40 posted on 10/27/2011 8:56:33 PM PDT by Daffynition (“There are no compacts between lions and men, and wolves and lambs have no concord.” ~ Homer)
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