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Vanity plate choice -- "NIKOLA"?

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(Aside: I'm surprised there isn't a dedicated subforum for vanity plate choices. It seems like a common topic that would be worth clustering. Oh well.)

I've been debating different vanity plates and with my car being delivered (hopefully) soon, need to make a decision. One that I like is "NIKOLA" (get it, a Tesla named Nikola?). But I worry that about two days in, I'd get sick of fielding the question "is your wife named Nicola?" without ever once hearing "hey, great Tesla pun!". My wife (who is NOT named Nicola) points out that the people who *do* get the pun will automatically have passed some kind of cred test, but I'm not sure that's worth the potential mild but repeated irritation of the other 95% who probably won't get it.

The other option is pretty safe, my TMC handle. Not punny, but no danger of it being misconstrued in a tiresome way either.

I'm not particularly interested in making a statement on my license plate about how much I hate oil, love electricity, etc -- I feel like the car is statement enough.

Anyway, I'd be interested in discussion about the "NIKOLA" option.
 
Whenever I see "Nikola" I always get a mental picture of a guy in lederhosen blowing on his alpshorn and calling out "Ricola", like in the TV commercial.

Another corollary to your concern about people thinking Nikola being your wife's name is that many will think you are driving your wife's car with her name on it. That might or might not bother you.

Where I live, we pay extra for personalized plates. I don't think I'd want to do that unless I was sure I was excited about what I put on there.

Or you could put your wife's name on there...
 
Most people have no idea who Nikola Tesla was, and even fewer will associate Nikola with your car. Most don't even know what a Tesla is. Around here, when someone asks me who makes this car and I respond with "Tesla", they keep asking who makes this car. They don't seem to be able to register a manufacturer that isn't one of the big names. I'd stick with something that makes a little more sense, but also has personal meaning.
 
I would assume the owner's name was Nikola (I have at least two friends with that name). Then I would grasp that it was a Tesla, then I would wonder if the person's name was Nikola and that it also works with the car name...
Anyway, if the idea is to make people think and wonder, then it works. If you'll be annoyed if people ask if your name is Nikola all the time, then maybe reconsider?!
 
Whenever I see "Nikola" I always get a mental picture of a guy in lederhosen blowing on his alpshorn and calling out "Ricola", like in the TV commercial.
Heh.
Or you could put your wife's name on there...
Well played.

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A simple search on 'vanity plates' returned hundreds of results. :)
Yeah, I know. But they're spread out over a bunch of different subforums, which didn't help me much in choosing which one to start my own thread in. I could have leeched onto one of those I suppose, but that wasn't really my intent.

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I don't have much input on the Nikola choice, but I can see how your TMC handle actually could be misconstrued in a tiresome way. At least by teenage boys. :wink:
Huh. Not seeing it, and I normally have a pretty adolescent sense of humor. Maybe you can IM it to me if it's not printable. Or maybe I don't even want to know.
 
Tesla-Vanity-Plates-9.jpg


nikola.png


tesla-500x527.png
 
99% of people, even those who know who Tesla was will assume its the name of the cars owner, because they are accustomed to people having their own names on car license plates. You could have Henry on a ford and people will still think its because the car owners name is Henry.

If you want a vanity plate, imho go for a message it doesn't seem vain then.

In the end though its your choice, so do what you feel happiest with.
 
Someone in NH has that plate too...probably me. No one has ever mentioned thinking it was my name, people have asked me who it is, and I tell them. People should know who he is, and how he contributed.

I see people taking pictures of the plate constantly in the rear view. My friends, who are all nerds (sorry friends), are jealous of the plate not the car.

nikola.jpg
 
If you're going to get one, get whatever you want.

I think it's worth pointing out that when you google nikola you get a brief bio of Nikola Tesla with "that" picture.

(In Maine vanity plates cost you $25. In the UK vanity Registrations can be bought and sold and good ones go for 10s of thousands. And you Merkins call yourself capitalists...)