James Bond used them to elude Goldfinger's foot soldiers, but now revolving license plates have hit the open market in (where else?) China. Apparently over half of all speeders caught on camera in the south of the country get away scot-free by using false or occluded plates. A basic remote controlled plate switcher costs just 800 Yuan ($115), but more sophisticated gadgets that get the job done in just three seconds cost over twice that amount.
So, would fitting one of these make your vehicle a Q Car?
[Source: Reuters]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
thesvtautox @ May 9th 2008 2:07PM
i want one..... altho, if you do get cought, you are royally fu*ked
Yar @ May 9th 2008 2:08PM
I doubt this will be granted an import license. But if it does, I'll take 2.
Benfolio @ May 9th 2008 2:08PM
Soooooo... do you drive with your legal plate showing or the fake one?
Cause while it may fool the camera to drive around with a fake plate, and switch it later, the normal cop on the same road as you MIGHT notice something fishy when he sees your number change, or runs the fake plate.
SPF @ May 9th 2008 2:31PM
I don't think the Chinese cops can run the license plate as easy as you think. I don't think they have computers in their cars, so... Unless your license plate looks REALLY fishy, it should be ok.
Dejan @ May 9th 2008 2:12PM
So, where´s the link to the webshop? :P
Random Task @ May 9th 2008 2:27PM
This works in no way, shape or form that I can figure out if you get pulled over by a real policeman with access to a radio or database. It's great for speed cameras, though.
Bill Coates @ May 10th 2008 12:01PM
Hey Random Task,
Is that your "Rebel Machine" ?
My father had that exact car in Windsor, Ont. about 20 or 25 years ago. I know there were only a few made and to see one around now, is quite rare!!
I wonder if that's the car he had??
Random Task @ May 10th 2008 7:17PM
No. I wish. I just like old AMCs.
joe @ May 9th 2008 2:29PM
i'm sure in china if a cop sees you with the plate changing they pull you over and you can bribe them to forget about it, but i don't see that working here in the states.
Toy Yoda @ May 9th 2008 4:58PM
Yeah, because American cops can't be bribed.
joe @ May 9th 2008 5:29PM
@Toy Yoda: no, it is because you'd be lucky to find a traffic cop in the states that would take a bribe, and if you tried you would most likely be arrested on the spot and end up in jail. and, in china, corruption is so rampant it is normal business. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/aug/03/china.peterwalker
iSpec @ May 9th 2008 2:39PM
The one on the front of that car is stuck. Look at it! Yeah, that's right it's made in China!
davido @ May 9th 2008 3:32PM
I always thought that Goldfinger's guys should have just shot up every DB5 they saw. I mean how many would that be?
Having A DB9 disappear was much more effective.
Josh @ May 9th 2008 4:30PM
Or a DBS that had some sort of shield to prevent it from getting damaged by flipping over 12 times to save a hot babe.
It still hurts to think about...
Toy Yoda @ May 9th 2008 5:01PM
They should make LCD screens in the shape of licenses to display your real and fake license number.
Anyways, this technology would be good for thieves.
andre lavoie @ May 9th 2008 10:31PM
in the back of car magazines (ex. Motor Trend) its common to find ads for some kind of spray. When applied to your license plate it forms a clear coat which is undetectable with the naked eye but shows as a blurry image to a speed camera. Much more effective I would say. Not sure if it actually works though.
Benfolio @ May 10th 2008 10:14AM
According to Mythbusters, it does not.
Yet they still advertise with that high-kicking big-headed cracker-ass honky in the back of every month's issue.
cowboy bob @ May 10th 2008 9:05AM
Back in my day, ('60s) we put switches under the dash to shut off the brake and tail lights on our "street" cars. We also used to splot a little mud on the rear plate to obscure a couple of digits, and not make it real obvious that it was intentional. Many of the boys used to "run 'em" when the gumballs lit up. I took a '62 'vette down the road at 125+ with flashing lights fadeing back behind me on many a night. Back in those days even the cops liked a good run. I remember dusting a local cop on a Friday night, and talking with him at a local coffee shop the next day. Today, they just kill you. Todays cops are mostly egotistical jackasses. Times were better then 'eh? Oh yea, all you "law abideing" prissy snots jump on me now for streetracing.
Emmo213 @ May 12th 2008 2:45PM
You can't outrun a radio.
cowboy bob @ May 13th 2008 7:08AM
Gee Emmo, they had radio in the '60s too 'ya know! The key was to not run straight lines for miles on end! Accelerate, turn. Accelerate, turn. Get it? Today we see these idiots running for miles at 100+ on the freeway. Moronic.