Fiat 500X - 1 March 2020

It is quite amazing to think that the ‘new’ system is now 20 years old. I have never really liked it despite an interest in registration numbers from my schooldays when my uncle would regularly give me his out of date AA Members Handbooks which listed all the different issuing authorities and the letters issued by them.

Also, with my interest in buses and coaches, I found that such vehicles had a sense of belonging to particular towns and regions of Britain. I miss that. Buses and coaches get registered by their builders and now, with so few of those around, there is little individuality and the variety very limited.

The current system changeover dates never seem to have the same impact as did the more localised suffix/prefix letter system. Maybe it is that I just don’t take as much notice as I once did. Maybe it is with advancing years that it is better not to be reminded of the passage of time!