Successful SB100 applicants.......join in the celebration.

[Driver]

So it's 500 new ones each year, not 500 total. Whew! Thats not as bad as I was thinking. For some reason I was thinking 500 total. Excuse me, a blonde moment there.

[Karl]

At the very end of the registration process, even after you've got plates, your application is still scrutinized by a) the registration supervisor at the DMV office you turned your application in to, and b) the head honchos in Sacramento.  Only after you get the pink slip in the mail can you truly breathe a big sigh of relief.  But an SPCNS Certificate is certainly a huge step forward.

[Driver]

So several Atoms being moved around on flatbeds for the foreseeable next few weeks? Keep us up to date on when you actually get them on the road.  I'll update the FAQ to reflect it when you do.

[Karl]

Nah, the DMV is nice enough to give you temporary operating permits after you pay your fees.  You can use these to drive around.

[Driver]

So, all of you SB100 people.. Where did you go for your first LEGAL day/week of drive? Think about it, give us a report over the next few days. I'm sure many of you are looking for this weeks drives and car shows already.

[dp35]

[quote="Karl"]
It was tense... was at the DMV from 4PM yesterday 'til this morning.  And it paid off.
[/quote]

You were at the DMV from 4:00 PM, the previous day, not from 4:00 AM this morning?  If so, then that's the record AFAIK.  I hope you were 1st in line. 

[SteveH]

it makes me somewhat suspicious that nowhere on the internet has there ever been a story of someone just missing the 500 cutoff.  I wonder if they REALLY cap it at 500. 

[cshama]

You don't know how lucky you guys are. Good weather and SB100s!! Still not one registered in NY 
e
Well done guys!!!

[maverick1]

Guys, I want to personally congratulate all of you on your SB100 successes. Hopefully once my parents house is sold off I will be making my move down to sunny CA and would love to meet up with all of you at some point. All I ask is if you all can give me some guidance for my SB100 adventure next Jan 2/2008 when I will be going through the same thing with my Atom.
Once again CONGRATULATIONS gentlemen.....WELL DONE.
Now go out and celebrate tonight.....you deserve it. 
Cheers®

[Karl]

[quote="dp35"]
[quote="Karl"]
It was tense... was at the DMV from 4PM yesterday 'til this morning.  And it paid off.
[/quote]

You were at the DMV from 4:00 PM, the previous day, not from 4:00 AM this morning?  If so, then that's the record AFAIK.  I hope you were 1st in line. 
[/quote]

That's correct dp35, I spent 16 freezing hours in front of the DMV entrance with a lawn chair and a laptop.  I didn't want to take my chances with this process, and figured that your typical SPCNS owner isn't quite as hardcore as, say, your typical Playstation 3 nut.  I was first in line.  But given how clogged the phone lines were this morning, it seemed to not make much difference in the grand scheme of things.  Only 3 people were at my local DMV this morning for SPCNS certificates.

[benyeats]

[quote="SteveH"]
it makes me somewhat suspicious that nowhere on the internet has there ever been a story of someone just missing the 500 cutoff.  I wonder if they REALLY cap it at 500. 
[/quote]

That is the kind of thing that would really tickle my sense of humour if it turns out to be true

Congratulations all now get driving !!!

Ben

p.s. semi considering coming to LA on my forthcoming US trip, someone must be close enough to take me for a spin (also planning on Pheonix to visit kenAZUSA)

[SteveH]

[quote="benyeats"]
[quote="SteveH"]
it makes me somewhat suspicious that nowhere on the internet has there ever been a story of someone just missing the 500 cutoff.  I wonder if they REALLY cap it at 500. 
[/quote]

That is the kind of thing that would really tickle my sense of humour if it turns out to be true

Congratulations all now get driving !!!

Ben

p.s. semi considering coming to LA on my forthcoming US trip, someone must be close enough to take me for a spin (also planning on Pheonix to visit kenAZUSA)
[/quote]

I'm in Beverly Hills.  Would be happy to take you for a spin if I'm around.

Karl, you are HARDCORE!  You should have gotten a super duper gold shiny SB100 # or something

[dp35]

[quote="Karl"]
P.S. At my DMV, it was funny, there were some guys there asking for "SB100 forms" and the clerks had no clue what they were talking about.  Remember folks, they're Specially Constructed Vehicles or SPCNS.  And the numbers are SPCNS Certificates of Sequence.
[/quote]

So did this guy end up getting an SB100 too? 

I don't know about you, but I was just a little bit bugged when I read about one guy that showed up at DMV at 9:00, didn't know the procedure, the DMV clerk didn't know the procedure either, and then ended up getting a sequence number.  I'd be really pissed off reading about that guy if I hadn't gotten one.  But I did, so there's basically nothing that bothers me right now! 

[Karl]

I'm still a bit puzzled by the seemingly antiquated process by which numbers are assigned, however, short of having all applicants queue in front of a building in, say, Sacramento, I can't think of a much better way to do it.

One possibility would be firstly, to limit the number of phones any one DMV can use to call for SPCNS numbers to exactly one.  This ensures that offices who are overstaffed don't get the jump.  Secondly, change the Sacramento end, so that the offices are calling into an automated system that can queue the maximum possible number of simultaneous callers (on the order of 100, easy as pie with a VoIP service).  A single DMV office with a single call can register a single car (e.g. through keypad entry of the temporary license number), that way all field offices are rotated through in a fair manner, and it would spread out the "customer" base to all the field offices, rather than just a few known to be "friendly".

Then again, you could also just have everyone apply, and do a straight random number lottery.  That would be the "fairest" method. 

[Karl]

[quote="dp35"]
So did this guy end up getting an SB100 too?
[/quote]

As it turns out, he was a veteran from last year as well, registering another Cobra (not his cars).  Given that he's not a car fanatic and that his job doesn't primarily entail dealing with the DMV, I understand where he was coming from.  By the time my DMV got through to Sacramento (~9:15), the 3 SPCNS guys had their paperwork done (even with a clueless DMV clerk, this takes a maximum of 1 hour) and in the queue for certificates, which we all ended up getting.