Number plate system change and cars of 1983

The vehicle registration plate system in Great Britain changed in 1983; for the previous 20 years motor vehicles on the British mainland were given a number plate comprising three letters, then a series of numbers and a final letter which denoted the year of registration. Originally, when the scheme started in 1962, that final letter would change over at the start of each year, however by 1967  the motor industry pushed for (and got) a change, so that the letter changed in August. This was intended to create sales of new vehicles in a traditionally slow period, so the E plate was issued in January 1967 as normal, but by August the F plate came out and from then on the letter changed each August. An example of the sort of registration plate is illustrated by a famous number plate from TV show 'The Prisoner' - the KAR 120C plate seen on the Lotus Seven driven by actor Patrick McGoohan in the show.

Actor Patrick McGoohan driving KAR 120C. Image (c) Granada Ventures

The plate system also indicated in the three letters whereabouts the vehicle was registered; the last two letters denoting the regional office. The numbers were random, however an industry soon sprang up where registrations which could be made into a word, a name or something approximating that, were sold at high prices. In the same vein, the UK Drivers and Vehicle Licensing Association (DVLA) kept a 'blacklist' of registrations which could be construed as inappropriate and did not issue them.

By 1982, the system had reached the letter Y (some letters such as I, O, Q, and U were not used) and a change was then required. The solution was simply to reverse the formula and start again; that is, the last letter which denoted the registration year, became the first. Going back to our example, if 'The Prisoner' had been made after 1983, the car might have had the number plate C120 KAR.

How the registration plate might have looked after 1983

 
Therefore the first registrations with the new A prefix letter were issued in August 1983. Not surprisingly, sales were strong in a year when the registration system itself, not just the letter denoting the year, changed.

This system should have lasted for another 20 years at least, however another push by the motor industry in 1999, intended to even out sales over the year, meant that the registration letter changed twice a year, so a new plate was introduced March and also in September. Also by that time, it was soon coming around to the time when the registration system needed another change. In March 2001 plates with the prefix letter Y were issued, but by September, the new system came into effect. Instead of a letter denoting the year at the start or end of the plate, the new system had a two-digit number. In September 2001, that number was '51', and March 2002, '02', then '52' for September 2002 and so on. This system continues today, with the current plate being '13' and from September, '63'.

Back in 1983, when the system last changed, some of the popular cars of the UK included Ford's Fiesta, Escort and Sierra (the infamous 'jelly mould' design which became influential), the Austin Metro and larger Maestro (a car which featured a talking dashboard on some models), and from Vauxhall, the Cavalier and Astra. The 'hot hatch' was popular in this period also, and Ford had introduced a 'hot' Sierra in 1983, the XR4i. Among hatchbacks, the Nova from Vauxhall, introduced this year, was a popular smaller model too, as was the Fiat Uno and Volkswagen Golf.

The Ford Sierra, early example from 1983 (Wikipedia)

The 1980s would see huge changes in this and many other industries, and although many of the top-selling cars were British 30 years ago, sadly that's no longer the case today.