The seven-character pattern California has used for 45 years will finally run out of combinations in 2025, two years earlier than expected. But America's largest car market has a plan.
  • sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    9·
    2 days ago

    In case anyone doesn’t want to read, the current pattern is

    <number><letter x3><number x3>

    They are just going to start again reversed, so

     <number x3><letter x3><number>.
    • NateNate60@lemmy.world
      12·
      2 days ago

      Maybe this is just the computer engineer in me but a new numbering protocol that does not at least 10x the capacity of the previous one doesn’t seem like an improvement.

        • NateNate60@lemmy.world
          3·
          1 day ago

          You misunderstand. We must plan for the possibility that the population of California will reach 1 billion within the next few years and that each person should be able to register at least 10 cars, just to be safe.

    • MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.net
      4·
      2 days ago

      How easy that is depends on how deep the 7-digit format is embedded in however many lines of dusty COBOL spread out over whatever systems grew from, and are dependent on, the original.