Why are the plates different?
Mean-looking beast! And so shiny... ![Thumbs up :thumbup:](https://www.autos.ca/forum/Smileys/CarTalk/thumbsup.gif)
There's a bit of a story behind those plates. The "569 TDK" plates were my dad's first plates in Canada, after he immigrated. They were initially on a ratty 300 SEL he was given by his brother as a hand-me-down, and they were around until they were on my first car ('89 Camry). Dad turned them in by accident because someone at the ministry basically told him he could no longer carry over plates (don't know what the full story behind that is).
Apparently, in Ontario, when you turn in a plate, they're destroyed and not only "locked", but even you can't get them re-issued to you. Through a massive battle with the MTO that lasted nearly a year, they were kind enough to release the plates again and they've been re-issued, and are now on the 560 SEL.
@Railton - Yup, those pics were taken in the GTA a couple weeks ago. No snow now, of course, but the car is stashed safely in a heated underground.