Poll
This is my 1966 Chevrolet Corvair 500 Sport Sedan. I picked this car up in Ohio a few years back with 19,342 miles on it. Your typical "little old ladies" car.
Anyway,I drove the car home to Iowa in eight hours with no problems. As my wife greeted me at the door she said it was the ugliest car she had ever seen. This appeared to me as a challenge. The other thing was how cheap could I get it fixed up for? So here was my goal...
The interior was nearly perfect only needed a couple seams restitched and a cleanup...no buckets in this baby...bench seats all the way! The outside needed paint work which I did in my garage....really pretty easy if you are patient. And the
I had a set of 15" American Racing CP 200's wheels off my 96 GMC truck that I had returned at the end of the lease. After a little machine work on them they were ready to accept the 4 3/4 inch bolt circle.
At a national Corsa Convention We won second place in my class (automatic)with a final average of 36.624 mpg. Some good downhill runs there....but still not bad for a 40 year old car!
Yes we drove the car from our home, and back with a total of almost 3000 miles on the trip.
WHATS NEW???MY CAR IN A NEW UNRELEASED MOVIE (You can watch the featurette at this link) 30TheMovie
I AM A FUGITIVE FROM THE DOT----- 
John Miller of Boone has had his personalized license plates on his 1966 Corvair for five years. Recently, he got a letter from the Iowa DOT stating he has to turn the plates in within 10 days. "Nobody has ever been offended by the plates," said Miller
DOT: 'F NADER' plates offensive at any speed
An Iowan's Corvair has a vulgarity aimed at Ralph Nader, the state says.
By WILLIAM PETROSKI
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
June 2, 2006
For the past five years John Miller's 1966 Chevrolet Corvair has had personalized license plates with the letters "F NADER." The message has been an inside joke among classic car enthusiasts.
But Iowa Department of Transportation officials don't share Miller's humor. They have asked him to remove the plates and to surrender them to the Boone County treasurer's office.
State officials recently determined the "F" is shorthand for a four-letter vulgarity aimed at consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Nader wrote a 1965 book, "Unsafe at Any Speed," that criticized the safety features of many American automobiles, citing General Motors' sporty Corvair as an example and damaging its reputation.
Miller, 51, enjoys restoring old Corvairs in his spare time, and he has four of the 1960s-era, rear-engine cars at his home in Boone. He said he never intended to be rude by displaying the black-and-gold personalized plates, which are a University of Iowa Hawkeye version. He said he has often seen Corvairs from other states with identical license plate lettering at national gatherings of car collectors.
"Usually, it doesn't raise an eyebrow. It just brings a chuckle," Miller said. When strangers have asked him what the "F" stands for, he has responded in jest that it's an initial for "Fred," and that he's Ralph Nader's brother.
Miller obtained the personalized plates from the Iowa Department of Transportation in 2001. He said nobody griped about the combination of letters the past five years. But state officials decided to act after receiving a complaint from Joel Paulson of Ames.
" 'F NADER' is obviously this Corvair owner's response to Ralph Nader's charge against the Corvair. I don't believe I should have to explain to my children about 'F NADER,' " Paulson wrote in a May 16 letter.
Randall Wilson, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union-Iowa, said he finds the Iowa DOT's stance a bit ridiculous.
"My thoughts are that they surely have better things to do than take on this guy. ... It just does not strike me as so offensive or gross that the state has any business trying to do something about it," Wilson said.
Andrew Lewis, assistant director of the DOT's office of vehicle services in Des Moines, said Miller's original application never should have been approved.
"We have a huge naughty word list that we continue to increase as the days go by. But if it is not on the naughty list and someone gives it a different meaning, it can get through if we don't pick up on it," Lewis said.
The state's policy on personalized license plates prohibits offensive messages, swear words, and a combination of characters defined in dictionaries as vulgar, contemptuous, hostile, insulting, or racially or ethnically degrading.
Nader, who ran for president in 1996, 2000 and 2004, didn't respond to a request for comment this week made through his Washington, D.C., office.
Miller received the DOT's request last week, and he was given 10 days to turn in the offending plates. State officials have offered him a choice of getting a new personalized plate with a less offensive message at no cost, or accepting a $50 refund and installing a regular Iowa license plate.
Miller was also advised he could lodge an appeal. He said Thursday he was still weighing his options.
"I kind of like this plate and want to keep it, but I am not going to make a federal case out of it," Miller said.
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F NADER :: Andie Dominick
June 2nd, 2006 :: 12:44 PM
Man, this is my favorite story of the week. John Miller of Boone has a license plate with the letters “F NADER” on his 1966 Corvair. Ralph Nader criticized the safety features of many cars, and cited the Corvair as one that was especially unsafe in his 1965 book “Unsafe at Any Speed.”
In 2001, the Iowa DOT issued Miller the plates. Apparently they finally got around to figuring out what the F means — according to Miller it means “Fred,” Ralph’s brother. Anyway, the DOT wants the plates back.
But what if someone is named Frank Nelson Wright? And he wants a license plate that reads “F N RITE”? What about one with the letters “S HAPNS”? Or any number of combinations where the implied meaning of letters could translate into something profane? The imagination could go crazy thinking them up.
The DOT should let this one go. In fact, Miller should be commended for being so darn clever
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Boone man's 'NADER' plates must come off car, judge rules
John Miller says he harbors no grudges, and he wants to keep the plates as a souvenir of the recent dispute.
By WILLIAM PETROSKI
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
December 7, 2006
3 Comments
John Miller of Boone has lost his battle to keep the letters "F NADER" on the license plates of his 1966 Chevrolet Corvair.
A state administrative law judge has sided with the Iowa Department of Transportation, which contended the "F" was shorthand for a crude, four-letter word aimed at consumer advocate Ralph Nader.
Nader wrote a 1965 book, "Unsafe at Any Speed," that criticized the safety features of many American automobiles, citing General Motors' sporty Corvair as an example and damaging its reputation.
Miller said Wednesday he didn't agree with the ruling, but he had no plans to appeal the decision to revoke his license plates.
"The car is sitting in my garage with the plates still on it, but yes, the plates will be coming off," Miller said. "I'm not bitter; this has been a good chuckle for me."
Miller, 51, who enjoys restoring old Corvairs in his spare time, has four of the 1960s-era, rear-engine cars at his home in Boone.
He had the "F NADER" plates on a vehicle for five years before an Ames man complained in May to state officials, who subsequently asked Miller to surrender the plates.
Miller's case became a hot topic on Internet blogs, and he was a guest on radio shows nationwide.
He noted that similar "F NADER" plates are common among Corvair owners in other states.
The message has been an inside joke among classic car enthusiasts, although Miller claimed the "F" had no particular meaning. In fact, he sometimes told inquiring strangers in jest that the "F" was an initial for "Fred," and that he was Ralph Nader's brother.
However, during an administrative hearing, Randall Wilson, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa who represented Miller, admitted that the "F" may be a euphemism similar to the phrases "F-word" or "F-bomb."
The state's policy on personalized license plates prohibits offensive messages, swear words, and a combination of characters defined in dictionaries as vulgar, contemptuous, hostile, insulting, or racially or ethnically degrading.
In a 14-page ruling dated Nov. 16, Administrative Law Judge Donald Bohlken upheld the DOT's decision, saying the preponderance of evidence supported the state's position and provided sufficient reasons for its action.
"In this case, the appellant's use of the word 'F' in 'F NADER' does not implicate his free speech rights as his admission that the 'F' had no particular meaning demonstrates that it was not intended to convey any particular message and is neither his speech nor his expressive conduct," Bohlken concluded.
Andrew Lewis, assistant director of the state Office of Vehicle Services, testified during a hearing that "F" is not a swear word and he could not cite any dictionary that indicated "F" is a swear word. However, it is clear that Lewis' position is that taken in the context of the complete phrase or combination of characters, "F NADER" would be recognized as an expletive aimed toward Nader, Bohlken said.
If the "F" were omitted and the license plate only read "NADER," state officials would have no reason to revoke the plate, Bohlken said.
Lewis declined to comment Wednesday.
At least one case involving similar issues is still under appeal by an Iowa motorist.
Ben Stone, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, said he believes the Iowa Department of Transportation doesn't appear to have coherent standards to regulate license plates.
"They seem to be assuming that what complainants argue something means is what it must mean," Stone said. "We think it would be a benefit to the First Amendment for there to be some clear guidelines for what license plates can have."
Meanwhile, Miller said he has already transferred the ownership title of the Corvair in question to a friend.
But he said he hopes he can hang onto the "F NADER" license plates as a souvenir of the controversy.
"I'm just some little obscure guy driving a 40-year-old car that not everybody likes," Miller said.
"I have no hard feelings, really, with anybody."
Reporter William Petroski can be reached at (515) 284-8547 or bpetroski@dmreg.com
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