New Sept. 11 memorial license plate tops California list

LOS ANGELES (AP) The license plate design commemorating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with the message ``We Will Never Forget'' outsold the other nine California specialty vehicle plates in the first six months it was offered.

To raise money for anti-terrorism efforts and children of about 200 Californians killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks 10,200 of the red, white and blue ``California Memorial'' plates were sold to state motorists from July through December, 2002.

At a pace of more than 1,700 per month its sales surpassed the sales rates of about 1,500 each for two other designs that celebrate the California coast and raise funds for children's programs. Yosemite and Tahoe theme plates averaged about 500 per month, said state Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman Steve Haskins on Tuesday.

Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson, D-Culver City, led the Legislature's effort to create the ``We Will Never Forget'' plates. He had hoped owners of about 5 percent of the 26 million vehicles in California would buy the Sept. 11 plates.

``I am very pleased that Californians are buying this plate at the rate they are buying them. As more are on the road and people see them, that rate will increase,'' Wesson told the Los Angeles Times.

Most of the revenue from sales of the ``Never Forget'' plate, which costs an initial $50 plus a $40 annual fee, goes to law enforcement programs that target terrorism. About 15 percent of the fee goes to fund $5,000 scholarships for children of California's Sept. 11 victims. Through December, the survivors' share of Sept. 11 plate sales has reached $82,500, which would cover just over 16 scholarships.

``After the attack, people turned to their cars to express themselves,'' said Thomas McFeeley, a spokesman for Rewards for Justice, a nonprofit organization that has promoted Sept. 11 commemorative plates for most of the 50 states.

``People put on bumper stickers and flags. But flags tatter and stickers peel off. People want something permanent,'' he said.

Michigan began taking orders for its ``Proud to Be American'' design four weeks after the attacks. The state has sold more than 33,000 at $35 each.

Hawaii since late 2001 has sold nearly 17,500 plates proclaiming ``America United, Sept. 11, 2001.''

New York, site of the World Trade Center attacks, has not yet offered a Sept. 11 commemorative plate. A bill passed in the New York Senate last year remains in an Assembly committee.

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On the Net:

Calif. Specialty license plates:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/online/elp/elp.htm

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)