Missouri Launches Pilot Program to Combat Theft of Automobile License Plate Tabs
ST. LOUIS (SLFP.com), August 21, 2009 - Gov. Jay Nixon has announced the start of a pilot program aimed at stopping the theft of automobile license tabs from Missouri vehicles. The theft-resistant tab program will make theft of license plate tabs more difficult and less appealing to potential thieves by printing the unique vehicle license plate number directly on the tab.
Gov. Jay Nixon
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"For too long, theft of vehicle license plate tabs has caused inconvenience for Missouri motorists and nuisances for Missouri police departments. But with our theft-resistant tabs pilot program, Missouri is taking an important step toward limiting this crime," Gov. Nixon said. "By printing license numbers on the tabs, thieves will have less incentive to steal tabs, and police will be able to more easily identify stolen tabs that are being used illegally."
The theft-resistant tab program makes several changes to vehicle license tabs. The primary change is the inclusion of the vehicle's individual license plate number in bold text on the tab. Tabs stolen from one vehicle and affixed to another will be clearly identifiable as stolen to law enforcement, as the numbers on the tab and license plate will not match. Additionally, the enhanced tabs will be pre-perforated and embedded with a watermark, making them difficult to remove from plates or to counterfeit.
Gov. Nixon was joined for the announcement of the theft-resistant tabs program by acting Director of the Department of Revenue, Alana Barragán-Scott and Chief Daniel Isom of the St. Louis Police Department. License tab theft has been particularly problematic in the city of St. Louis, and the tab initiative has been targeted in St. Louis for its pilot period. Gov. Nixon's announcement was made, Friday, August 21, at the Schlafly Branch of the St. Louis Public Library, home to a parking garage in an area of St. Louis where many license tab thefts have historically been concentrated.
"Both St. Louis residents and visitors to our great city have been affected in recent years by the increasing number of license tabs stolen from parked vehicles," Chief Isom said. "It is my hope that this new program will help reduce the number of license tab thefts and ultimately lift a significant burden off the citizens in our community."
The pilot program will run in four license offices in St. Louis, making the theft-resistant tabs available to motorists who renew their registration in person at one of the following locations:
- St. Louis City Hall, 1200 Market St., Room 111
- AAA St. Louis, 3917 Lindell Blvd.
- South Kingshighway, 4628 S. Kingshighway
- Northside, 1330 Aubert Ave., Suite 102B
The pilot program will also make the new theft-resistant tabs available to Missourians who renew their registration via the Missouri Online Renewal System (MORE), those who renew by mail, or those who visit the central license office at 301 W. High St., Room 370, in Jefferson City.
In addition to reducing theft of tabs, the program will also help make license offices more efficient, as license tabs in the pilot locations will be printed on demand, ending the need for offices to keep an inventory of tabs on hand.
"Making theft-resistant tabs available at St. Louis license offices and online is just one example of how we're trying to make state government more efficient and accessible," Gov. Nixon said.
With Cash for Clunkers Ending Monday, New Dealer Stimulus Program Begins for Customers Left Behind
ST. LOUIS (PRNewswire), August 21, 2009 - The U.S. government will shut down its Cash for Clunkers program at 8 p.m. Monday, in a bid to avoid car dealers and shoppers from claiming more than the $3 billion set aside for the program.
"This program has been a lifeline to the automobile industry, jump starting a major sector of the economy and putting people back to work," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "At the same time, we've been able to take old, polluting cars off the road and help consumers purchase fuel efficient vehicles."
"The government jump-started our industry and now the industry has jump started the economy," said Brian Benstock, GM and Vice President of Paragon Automotive in New York. "They did their job getting the industry going and we need to do our job keeping it going." Paragon joined other top U.S. Automotive Retailers in launching www.AutoStimulusPlan.com, a dealer stimulus program to help consumers who were left behind by the government's plan. Over 90% of consumers were not eligible for the government's program and this left a lot of consumers unsatisfied. Now that the government's "Cash for Clunkers" program is ending, many of the largest retailers in the country are participating in the new stimulus plan that gives consumers up to $4500 of additional trade-in value towards the purchase of a new or used vehicle. "The public sector did a great job getting us back on the road but the private sector needs to drive America forward," said Benstock.
The new stimulus plan has fixed many of the problems with the government program. The new plan is more inclusive because all trade-ins older than 2007 are eligible regardless of their current mpg and consumers can purchase or lease any new or used vehicle with an improved fuel economy of 2mpg. This is a contrast to the government program which appealed to less than 10% of the market because it excluded trade-ins with more than 18mpg, used cars and short term leasing and most vehicles needed to get at least 4mpg improvement to qualify.
While clunker business began to slow down, dealers participating in the New Stimulus Plan have seen their sales continue to rise because they are helping the larger group of consumers that were left behind by the government program. Paragon Automotive, one of the participating dealers, went from 17th in new vehicle sales to #4 in the nation. "The new stimulus plan helped our new car business but it had an enormous impact on used vehicle sales," said Benstock. After Paragon implemented the new stimulus plan they had their best used vehicle sales month and became the #1 certified pre-owned Honda and Acura dealer in the world.
If half of the dealers in the country (10,000) generated the same tax revenue last month it would generate a total of $20 billion in only one month. In a time when states are in danger of bankruptcy, incremental tax revenue is a big help. John Malishenko, Director of Operations for Germain Automotive, another participating dealer in the new Auto Stimulus Plan, reported that sales have dramatically increased as a result of the new stimulus plan. "We had our second best weekend of the year. We've seen a 40% increase in unit sales versus July and we are currently pacing $45,000,000 of sales for the month. While other dealers' business has been falling off, our business has been setting records because we are helping customers that others are turning away."
The new stimulus plan helps retailers increase their new vehicle sales but also helps them improve their used vehicle sales. Used vehicle inventories have shrunk because the clunkers have to be destroyed. "We have to buy more used cars at auctions for higher prices," said John Malishenko, Director of Operations for the Germain Automotive Group who owns dealerships in Ohio, Arizona, Florida and Arkansas. "I would prefer to give customers 20 percent more for their trade-in to earn their business rather than paying more to Manheim Auction. If I overpay under the new stimulus plan, I still sold a car and I have a customer who will service with me over the long term."
The dealer Auto Stimulus Plan includes used vehicles and allows dealers to resell the trade-ins. "Letting consumers buy a used vehicle or lease a new vehicle makes it affordable for a lot of people who could not participate otherwise," said Scott Gruwell from Courtesy Auto Group in California and Arizona, one of GM's largest dealers and a participating dealer.
"We needed to do something to help out all the customers who were upset that they could not participate in the government program," said Rick Case, owner of Rick Case Automotive Group in Florida, Georgia and Ohio. "Consumers love the new stimulus plan because they save a lot of money on their purchase while also reducing their gas and repair expenses."
The Auto Stimulus Plan is a private sector program promoted by retailers to help consumers, the economy and the environment at the same time. To qualify a consumer must select a new or pre-owned vehicle with a 2MPG improvement over their current vehicle, which is the same requirement the government program has for SUV's, but it applies to all vehicles under the dealer plan.
"The mpg requirements are lower because the primary goal of the plan is to help consumers that didn't qualify for the government's program and to stimulate the economy through improved sales, jobs and spending," said Gruwell. "As a result, the environmental benefits may not be as big as the government program but it will help more customers get into more fuel efficient vehicles."
"If a consumer does not have a trade, they can benefit from the extraordinary manufacturer incentives that are out today," added Case. "In addition to the stimulus, our dealership is offering up to $4500 of savings to consumers."
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