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How Steve Jobs got away with a Plateless Mercedes

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Old 10-27-11, 06:11 PM
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PureDrifter
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Default How Steve Jobs got away with a Plateless Mercedes

Originally Posted by Yahoo Autos
Latest Steve Jobs Mystery Revealed: How He Drove Without License Plates

By Justin Hyde
The multitude of mysteries revealed following the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' death now includes one that puzzled car enthusiasts for years: How did Jobs get away with driving without a license plate? It was common knowledge that Jobs would park his Mercedes SL55 AMG in a handicapped spot at Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters, with nothing to identify his vehicle other than the tiny barcode that usually rests behind the rear license plate. According to Walter Isaacson's new biography, Jobs wanted to avoid having a plate for privacy reasons; and yet when having a license-less silver Mercedes became a kind of trademark, Jobs kept motoring without one "because I don't."

For years, rumors swirled that Jobs had either won a special dispensation from California authorities or was just daring police to stop him. While the why remains somewhat cloudy, an interview by ITWire with a former Apple security executive reveals the real reason: a little-known loophole in California vehicle laws that gives owners up to six months to get plates for their vehicles.

According to Jon Callas, now chief technical officer of Entrust, Jobs would arrange with his vehicle leasing company to switch out his silver Mercedes every six months with a new, identical model — just another of the complicated and expensive ways Jobs thought differently.
I had always wondered how he got away with that. for those who have no idea what the article's talking about, Jobs had a sort of infamy in CA for always driving his Mercedes SL without a license plate, just showing the VIN. He claimed it was so that he wouldn't be so readily identifiable but considering there arent that many new SLs wandering the roads with neither license plates or dealer plates.....

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Old 10-27-11, 06:11 PM
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Exclamation Latest Steve Jobs Mystery Revealed: How He Drove Without License Plates

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/latest-s...se-plates.html

Niiiiiiiiiiiice

The multitude of mysteries revealed following the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' death now includes one that puzzled car enthusiasts for years: How did Jobs get away with driving without a license plate? It was common knowledge that Jobs would park his Mercedes SL55 AMG in a handicapped spot at Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters, with nothing to identify his vehicle other than the tiny barcode that usually rests behind the rear license plate. According to Walter Isaacson's new biography, Jobs wanted to avoid having a plate for privacy reasons; and yet when having a license-less silver Mercedes became a kind of trademark, Jobs kept motoring without one "because I don't."

For years, rumors swirled that Jobs had either won a special dispensation from California authorities or was just daring police to stop him. While the why remains somewhat cloudy, an interview by ITWire with a former Apple security executive reveals the real reason: a little-known loophole in California vehicle laws that gives owners up to six months to get plates for their vehicles.

According to Jon Callas, now chief technical officer of Entrust, Jobs would arrange with his vehicle leasing company to switch out his silver Mercedes every six months with a new, identical model — just another of the complicated and expensive ways Jobs thought differently.
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Old 10-27-11, 06:17 PM
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MashinA
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what a waste of time...switching the same car over and over every six months just for this...
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Old 10-27-11, 06:43 PM
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RXSF
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lol pshhh its only a 55. I thought he'd be ballin' the 63
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Old 10-27-11, 06:55 PM
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is it always silver?boring. if its different colors of sl55 that would be pretty kool.
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Old 10-27-11, 07:30 PM
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Originally Posted by MashinA
what a waste of time...switching the same car over and over every six months just for this...
You think Jobs was the one switching the cars out himself? I'd bet that whatever local MB dealer he dealt with took care of everything for him. Not to mention, no photo enforcement tickets!!!
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Old 10-27-11, 07:48 PM
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Originally Posted by RXSF
lol pshhh its only a 55. I thought he'd be ballin' the 63
i would have assumed he would be ballin' in a bentley, ferrari, lambo, etc.
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Old 10-27-11, 08:06 PM
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Don't think he was that type to drive an exotic, more of a weird dude really.
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Old 10-27-11, 08:10 PM
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Interesting loophole.
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Old 10-27-11, 08:16 PM
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That's the rice life! What a waste thought but when you have money nothing can stop you!
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Old 10-27-11, 09:03 PM
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Old 10-27-11, 09:17 PM
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Originally Posted by JessePS
Interesting loophole.
they're giving him too much credit. this is not a loophole. ANYONE in california can switch out new cars every 6 months and not put on plates if they wanted to.

Originally Posted by js619858
That's the rice life! What a waste thought but when you have money nothing can stop you!
it's a waste if it was HIS money. but he's playing with house(apple) money
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Old 10-27-11, 09:27 PM
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I wonder why he drove the same old Mercedes, why not at least get the new model?
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Old 10-27-11, 09:46 PM
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He could pay the ticket anyways even if he kept the license plate off and didn't switch out cars.

Isn't this just a fix it ticket here in CA?
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Old 10-27-11, 09:58 PM
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Originally Posted by RXSF
lol pshhh its only a 55. I thought he'd be ballin' the 63
Nah Im surprised that he didnt have the big daddy 65
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