Many thanks to Amber Rubarth, and her dad, who sent me an email bill of sale. That allowed me to go to the tag office and register my electric car. It is now legal for me to drive my EV!

Of course, nothing can go smoothly when it comes to my projects.

I had learned from previous EV Discussion List postings that it can be difficult to insure your EV. I was prepared for a struggle with State Farm, but they were as accomodating as possible. They insured Silent E just like any other Honda Civic, no problem.

What I wasn't prepared for was the struggle with the tag office. But now that I had my bill of sale, surely things would go smoothly, right?

Riiiiight. Naturally I was helped by the same lady at the tag office, Nancy. She didn't seem happy to see me. But we proceeded professionally. The next problem was that the California title said that the car ran on gas. I explained, she understood, and after a quick trip to talk with the boss she decided we'd have to fill out a "Change of Motor Affidavit".

Naturally, this is a seldom-used form. The copy on hand was outdated. The latest copy, printed in triplicate for the convenience of future weirdos, included strange wording indicating it was intended for vehicles earlier than 1950. We didn't let that stop us. What did stop us was the requirement for the new engine number.

I explained that, as an electric motor, I didn't think it had a number. Nancy's response: "Oh, now, don't be saying that!" So I went out to look for a number.

The motor was kinda wedged up there, but I could see the faceplate and make out the model number. The motor clip went over the faceplate, right in the middle of the "Serial Number" field. But there was nothing on either side of the clip; unless this was a single digit, there was nothing in the field.

After about 10 minutes, my wife drove up. I explained what was going on as Nancy came out to see what was taking so long. We broke out some mirrors, tried to wipe things off, and generally fudged around until Nancy decided to get the boss.

The boss was interested, so I showed him all the batteries and answered a couple of EV questions for him. He looked for the number for a few minutes, then asked to look at the form. "This is the wrong form," he stated, reading aloud, "Number of the removed motor!"

Oh, lord. Please don't make me find out what the number of the removed motor was. I haven't the faintest, and it was sold two years ago for scrap. Please.

Nancy reads the next field, "Number of the replacement motor!" They talked for a few seconds, and the boss concluded, "Just fill out the general affidavit, and say 'Original engine replaced with electric motor'". Success! We go inside to finish up.

Nancy doesn't seem any happier, but quickly fills out the affidavit, finishing the sentence with "No fraud intended." I sign happily, and we move on to the tag.

It's obvious I'm just not making things any easier for her. I want a personalized plate on a specialty tag. I've picked the Imagine license plate, providing a donation to the Florida Association of Food Banks. Feeding the hungry is a good donation, I figure, although I really picked it for the cool cloud motif and the "Imagine" tagline.

After some communication trouble (apparently the concept of a "silent e" is lost after learning to read), she shows me what "SILENT E" will look like on this plate. I comment, "Sweet". She asks me what it means.

I don't really know how to respond. I explain that it's like the silent e at the end of a word. My wife volunteers "Silent Electricity". Nancy quickly writes down "Quiet Car" and flashes to the next page.

Nancy explains it's 6 to 8 weeks to get the custom tag, charges me a grand total of nearly $300, and minutes later I'm carrying out my temporary tag (GO1 2BI) and attaching it to Silent E.

Finally, she's legal! Now for some good clean EV fun! I let Eri drive it home, so I can trail along behind and watch.