[6th element]

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/01...laren-mp4-12c/

[AugustWest]

Even more - the full "Jay Leno's Garage" segment is now up (15 minutes worth!) - complete with excellent commentary from Damian Forbes!

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/McLaren-MP4-12C/1380878

[Moncho]

Leno just gushes all over this car! He sounds like a paid spokesman. Probably got a great discount for all his PR work.

[6th element]

Over 1000 miles in the first week!? Good for him - he's having a blast.

[zippycar]

How does he get away with the rear number plate?

Or is the reg number McLaren?

Or am I just being dumb (please don't answer that one!)

[Senna]

Your not being dumb. In the US the car is sold/delivered with the dealers plate insert and then registered, the DMV then sends the owner the full licence plate to install himself. A lot of people never even put it on.

[Peloton25]

Originally Posted by zippycar

How does he get away with the rear number plate?

Or is the reg number McLaren?

Or am I just being dumb (please don't answer that one!)

Not a dumb question. That isn't a registration plate (or as we call them, license plate) on the rear of Jay's car there. That's a dealership plaquered for McLaren Beverly Hills which looks like this:



In the State of California you are not issued license plates at the time of delivery on new vehicles so most dealerships have something like this which they install that fills the void instead and gets them some free advertising.

When you buy a new car you get a small form showing the VIN, vehicle details, registered owner's info, and the date of sale. That gets taped to the lower right corner of the inside of the front windshield. It is typically folded in such a way that you can only read the VIN and the date of sale from outside the car. This temporary registration is good for 90 days while the State DMV processes the paperwork the dealership submits for your registration. Then the DMV issues you the hard plates to mount on the car which come via mail.

For most people the wait is about 2-3 weeks and then they install their new plates. What ends up happening with a lot of high profile people or people with high end cars is they receive the plates in the mail but continue to drive around with the temp registration in the window, sometimes for a year or more. It is hardly uncommon to see a vehicle being driven without plates in California and so as long as the car is clean and appears new I wouldn't suspect you'd ever get stopped by police solely for that. Even if you get pulled over for something else, unless you are a dick about it you probably wouldn't even get cited for not having the plates on - just a verbal warning to put them on the car in most cases.

Some states here do issue a plate direct from the dealership or a temporary cardboard plate with a tag number while the paperwork gets processed. Each one has its own policies and procedures for how that works.

>8^)
ER


EDIT: Rats - beaten by Senna!! Now I know how everyone else felt.

[Moncho]

In Texas, we get a temporary paper plate while the permanent one arrives.

[Peloton25]

I got something similar to that on my MR2 Spyder when I picked it up in Georgia. It didn't have any kind of identification number on it, just the date of expiration 30-days from the transaction date. It was written in black marker which would keep you from running it for any great length of time beyond when your hard plates arrive. Here's a shot of it during one of my stops along Route 66 in Oklahoma.



>8^)
ER

[sumbaco]

Hey Peloton, I remember reading on AF that you had an MR2 Spyder. It's amazing that the F1 is only 15 inches longer and has a V12! I'm not sure where the appropriate place would be, but I'd be interested in hearing your impressions on the driving experience of the MR2 and whether you've made any changes to it. Cheers.

[sumbaco]

I know that the preview for the 12c was posted, not sure if someone followed up with the full walkaround:

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/cars/m...-1/index.shtml

[Peloton25]

Originally Posted by sumbaco

Hey Peloton, I remember reading on AF that you had an MR2 Spyder. It's amazing that the F1 is only 15 inches longer and has a V12! I'm not sure where the appropriate place would be, but I'd be interested in hearing your impressions on the driving experience of the MR2 and whether you've made any changes to it. Cheers.

Sorry - just saw this question now. I've done some commenting on my MR2 Spyder on another forum in the years I've had it and it is probably easiest to link to one of the more comprehensive discussions rather than repeat it all for the audience here.

Tell me about the MR2 Spyder . . .

Be sure to read the last post on Pg 2.

>8^)
ER

[Osiris_x11]

Gotta watch this whole clip to know why it's in this thread!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUFSHzT2xuY&sns=em

[sumbaco]

Originally Posted by Peloton25

Sorry - just saw this question now. I've done some commenting on my MR2 Spyder on another forum in the years I've had it and it is probably easiest to link to one of the more comprehensive discussions rather than repeat it all for the audience here.

Tell me about the MR2 Spyder . . .

Be sure to read the last post on Pg 2.

>8^)
ER

Ah, wonderful. Thank you. I've always been interested in the Spyder. Great to hear such good things about it. It sounds like it's absolutely alive with feedback.

[6th element]

Seems like this article was written by Leno a while back, but just published now by PM:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...-fast-supercar