Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2017 July 12

= July 12 =

VXN
I just saw a car with a country-registration sticker of "VXN". Where's that? List of international vehicle registration codes doesn't give that, and a Google search for "vehicle registration code" vxn returns an abbreviation dictionary (but the page with "VXN" is not shown), a page to buy Cialis, and a page written in the Arabic script. I'm certain that "VXN" is not a mistake; the car was stopped and I had to walk around behind it. Nyttend (talk) 00:03, 12 July 2017 (UTC)


 * There are "VXN" decals and stickers for Sweet Briar College (nickname "vixens") for sale online. ---Sluzzelin  talk  05:23, 12 July 2017 (UTC)
 * How confusing; why did they have to use an international this-car-is-from-here indicator for a college? But thank you for a nice, simple answer.  Nyttend (talk) 11:23, 12 July 2017 (UTC)


 * I've seen other bumper stickers in that oval shape without carrying an international registration code. A google image search "oval" + "bumper" + "sticker" + "college" /"university" gave examples for Vassar, Columbia, Duke, Princeton, Ithaca and so forth. ---Sluzzelin  talk  12:03, 12 July 2017 (UTC)


 * They didn't have to, they chose to - presumably because they thought it looked good. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 14:13, 12 July 2017 (UTC)


 * Maybe they thought it would be distinctive because people would see it and wonder where on Earth "VXN" was ... Gandalf61 (talk) 14:29, 12 July 2017 (UTC)


 * I just looked at the article you linked for List of international vehicle registration codes, and I see that the stickers (which, being in America, I was not familiar with) are ovals with capital letters inside. Stickers like this have become very common in America in maybe the last ten years or so. All they are is a personal advertisement for a place that the car owner likes—for example "OBX" refers to the Outer Banks, a popular tourist destination in the US. Loraof (talk) 15:17, 12 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Similar to the fad for fake euro license plates. (Typically attached to the front bumper, even in states where that wasn't quite legal.) Which at first were so you could pretend you bought your car in Europe and transported it to USA (Like you might do for a very expensive sports car), but then just became a fashion statement where a person who liked Italy (for example) might get a fake Italian license plate that might not even look very much like a real one. ApLundell (talk) 21:30, 12 July 2017 (UTC)


 * I'm also reminded of the logo of The Black Dog, which started as just the logo of a restaurant, then became a fad among people lucky enough to vacation on Martha's Vineyard (including President Clinton). And then it just devolved into a general fad where people put silhouettes of their favorite breed of dog on a white background. ApLundell (talk) 21:41, 12 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Depressive people should probably avoid that restaurant. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  22:26, 14 July 2017 (UTC)


 * Yes, here in So Cal you see them periodically. It's virtually guaranteed these are not real international decals, since it's extremely rare for individuals to import automobiles to California, since they have to meet California emissions standards to be legally registered in the state. (Under NAFTA, Mexican vehicles don't need any decals or other special markings, I believe. I don't think I've ever seen any on vehicles with Mexican license plates.) --47.138.161.183 (talk) 23:43, 12 July 2017 (UTC)