MRSCIFI
Film: All of them? There's something almost endearingly tragic about the fact that this guy loves the entire genre so much, he can't even narrow it down a little bit.
Pros: Nice and unambiguous; a handy catch-all. Nerdism levels (catastrophic) clearly stated.
Cons: Could easily be mistaken for 'MRS CIFI', which sounds a bit like some half-arsed, dubiously MILF-y porn name.
What The Owner Probably Wishes He Was Driving: An actual woman around, rather than just loads of old takeaway cartons and a heavy, heavy heart.
MMFALCN
Film: Star Wars . Take your pick of Episodes IV-VI , but we're betting the very mention of its Sith cameo would earn you a light saber in the eye from this dude.
Pros: One of the cooler references available from his chosen canon. Gives an impression of rouguish charm and eyeball-blistering speed.
Cons: Purple and yellow makes it look like a candy bar wrapper, especially the 'MM' bit. Worse, it could be misread as a declaration of creepy feelings towards certain birds of prey.
What The Owner Probably Wishes He Was Driving: Well, duh...
PICARD
Film: Star Trek ( Generations , First Contact , Insurrection and Nemesis , if we're being anal. Which he almost certainly is.)
Pros: Suggests an air of suave sophistication. Avoids saying "I'm a hot-headed, freakishly clammy firebrand"; an inevitable setback with 'TKIRK'.
Cons: Makes him sound bald. And we've got a crisp £20 says he is.
What The Owner Probably Wishes He Was Driving: USS Enterprise, but not exactly driving - more just sitting up on the roof rack, authoritatively but democratically watching a bunch of other people drive it.
AKIRA
Film: Kind of a Ronseal one, this.
Pros: As far as sci-fi vanity plate references go, even we've got to admit this is a relatively cool one. Note: relatively .
Cons: Should really be embossed above the fat back tyre of a murderous-looking Tron -style futurebike, as opposed to whatever diesel-belching shed this is doubtless glue-gunned on to.
What The Owner Probably Wishes He Was Driving: See 'cons'. Either that, or an all-girl Japanese schoolbus on a day trip to Hello Kitty Land. (Which actually exists , upsettingly enough.)
THX1138
Film: Once again, the clue's in the title.
Pros: You could argue there's a faint hipster caché to this "I preferred his earlier stuff" nerdgasm of a number plate. Just not successfully.
Cons: Star Wars fanboys, Star Trek fanboys, humans...the list of folk keen to point out this guy's epic loserdom must essentially be endless. Besides, it should read 'THX 1138'. Not that we know or anything.
What The Owner Probably Wishes He Was Driving: All (both) his mates mad in the pub, endlessly quoting esoteric geek flicks until they're all crying together.
IHEARTTREK
Film: Star Trek , obviously. And again, take your pick - just don't be surprised if the owner of this vehicle is something of a purist.
Pros: Meh. There's very little to redeem this limping effort, frankly. In fact the more we look at it, the more we want this guy's car to plummet off a jetty in the night.
Cons: Too vague, too casual and far, far too cutesy. Hearts go on My Little Pony hindquarters, not things powered by internal combustion engines.
What The Owner Probably Wishes He Was Driving: A My Little Pony.
DTH STR
Film: Star Wars . A New Hope if his car's in good nick, Return Of The Jedi if it's one of those cut-and-shut, two-tone efforts.
Pros: Chuffing sinister. If there's a better way to make an already scary name look significantly scarier than by removing all the vowels, then we don't want to know about it.
Cons: Sort of demands a more intimidating set of wheels than a Volkswagen, doesn't it? Like, say, a Cozy Coupe .
What The Owner Probably Wishes He Was Driving: The Death Star is a bit ambitious - let's star off with "his own car, not his mum's."
WOOKIES
Film: Star Wars . Again.
Pros: Endearingly silly. Imagine it with an exclamation mark, and it kinda sounds like a delirious shriek of pure nerdcore joie de vivre.
Cons: Imagine it with an exclamation mark, and it also sounds like something a posh child might substitute for a proper swear, knowing that “shitbaskets” would be their one-way ticket to a month without pony rides.
What The Owner Probably Wishes He Was Driving: A speeder, whipping dextrously through the forests of Endor rather than snarled up in post-Wal-Mart gridlock.
UFO GUY
Film: This frequent flyer doesn’t own a telly or DVD player - that’s what the CIA use to monitor his brainwaves, maaan!
Pros: There’s always a slim chance it could be someone cool and famous who’s only associated with UFOs in a hip, tongue-in-cheek sort of way. Like, um...we’ll get back to you.
Cons: It’s a convertible, so we instantly know it’s just another sky-watching, tinfoil hat-wearing space cadet.
What The Owner Probably Wishes He Was Driving: Pfft, he’s not interested in driving. Where he’s going, they don’t need roads...
DALEK
Film: Dr. Who and the Daleks ; Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD
Pros: Suitably robotic, bristling with malice, and Dr Who references enjoy a surprising level of mainstream acceptance these days.
Cons: Daleks are rubbish, really, aren't they? Also, we have concerns about what this guy's car horn sounds like. Serious concerns.
What The Owner Probably Wishes He Was Driving: Take a guess - it's about five feet high, and it really struggles with stairs.
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