Mich. lawmakers pushes use of historic car plates

Chicago Tribune: Mich. lawmakers pushes use of historic car plates
WHITE LAKE TOWNSHIP, Mich.— A Michigan lawmaker has called for classic car drivers to be allowed to use state historical vehicle license plates wherever they drive in August, not just to and from historic or automotive events.

Historic plates cost $30 and are valid for 10 years. Currently, they are valid only when driving to and from events, but state Sen. Mike Kowall wants to change that.

A Republican who represents Oakland County's White Lake Township, about 30 miles northwest of Detroit, Kowall has a number of classic cars. A pole barn on his property houses a 1927 Model T, a 1928 Essex, a 1936 Plymouth and a 1950 Studebaker. Kowall said he plans to drive the Studebaker in the Aug. 20 Woodward Dream Cruise in suburban Detroit.

"This event and the whole hobby that goes with it are so much a part of our region, and they bring so many people here to celebrate that with us," Kowall told the Detroit Free Press.

Kowall said he wants a law designating August as Dream Cruise Month and allowing unlimited use of historical plates. If passed later this year, the law could take effect in August 2012, said Kowall's legislative director, Dave Biswas.

Dawn Parrrot, 52, who lived in the heart of the Dream Cruise zone until moving her family to North Branch several years ago, said expanding the use of historic plates would only make the congestion around the time of the event worse.

"The tickets officers give out at this time are the only means of keeping these goofballs in check," Parrott said.