Sir, – Conor Mooney laments the fact that our car registration plates reveal which half of any year a car was purchased (Letters, September 1st). I agree with him that this is snobbish nonsense which appeals only to those who see cars as a visible sign of success. But apart from that, I love our registration system. I grew up with the car registration that showed IC as the initial two letters for Carlow, IE for Clare, IR for Offaly and so on. Our present system is beautifully transparent and often leads me to say: “Wow. That car is in incredible nick,” when I see an old car that has obviously been very well cared for and looks like new. A bit like when I meet an old friend, and he or she says: “You are looking great,” and I know that “for your age” is in invisible brackets. – Yours, etc,GEMMA McCROHAN,Dublin 16.