As we all know, Steve Jobs passed away earlier this month. He is known for several things, including his relationship with Pixar Animation Studios and of course, Apple. He was actually the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple and the CEO of Pixar. Steve passed away on October 5, 2011 after an 8-year battle with cancer. He was 56.
I haven’t really written about him much, over the years or since his death. But I recently read an article about his license plate. Or… lack of a license plate. Of all of the things that Steve Jobs has done, to write a blog about his license plate seems a bit funny… but wait until you hear this.
Steve Jobs used to drive a Mercedes. (I drive a Mercedes. Well, a Smart car, but it’s made by Mercedes.) His car never had a license plate on it. Every so often it was a hot topic of conversation in the Silicon Valley. Now we know why. You can blame the state of California. In the state of California, anyone with a brand new car has a maximum of six months to affix the issued number plate to the vehicle. Does that mean that Steve Jobs drove a new car every six months? Yep!
From the beginning, Jobs made an arrangement with the leasing company that he would always change cars sometime during his six-month lease. The car, a silver Mercedes SL55 AMG, was always the same; always an exact replica of the original car with all of the same features and options. At no time would he ever be in a car older than six months; and thus there was no legal requirement to have the number plates fitted. What a clever guy Jobs was!
That’s pretty crazy… I wonder what the laws are like here in the state of Indiana. That might be something to consider… I love the new car smell!
Anyway, I apologize for not writing on his death until now. He will be missed, that’s for sure. But I find things like this so unique. I would rather honor him in small, subtle ways than to write a big long blog explaining how upset or how sad I am. I am upset… but only because he died so young.
Rest in peace Steve.
This is a very interesting post. I would assume it offered him a layer of protection, and since the profiles do not come any higher, shows even more into his genius!
Thanks for sharing what has got to be the oddest, but one of the coolest, Steve Jobs story I have seen yet!
Thanks for reading Harrison! I appreciate your comments, as always. I didn’t want to sit down and think about all that he has done for Apple, and for the overall user experience. I wanted to touch on something unique, and something I hoped a lot of people didn’t know. I hope that I accomplished this! Again, thanks for the comments sir!