By Scott Calvert
Andre Harris is a pawn in a debate that has car buffs across Maryland revved up: What should qualify as a historic vehicle?
The 40-year-old painter drives a blue 2005 Toyota Camry. "I wouldn't call it historic," he said on a recent Sunday, while parked at a Baltimore shopping plaza. But the state does. It says so on his license plate.
Tens of thousands of Marylanders have taken advantage of rules allowing historic tags on cars from the early 2000s. They make up nearly a third of historic tags -- about 60,000 out of 190,000, the state said.
Perks include avoiding state emissions tests and safety inspections. The license plates are also significantly cheaper than standard tags. Harris said the one-year savings, about $65, was his main motivation.
There's a catch, though: A historic car isn't supposed to be driven daily. "It can only be used in exhibitions, club activities, parades, tours, occasional transportation and similar uses," according to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration.
Harris said he drives his Camry on weekends. But enough people were commuting in their "classic" Honda Civics -- and enough people were complaining about them -- that state lawmakers cracked down last year, revising the historic definition from a rolling 20 years to include only cars from 1999 or earlier. "People imagine the '69 Corvette or whatever, not the 2002 Honda Accord," said Delegate Marc Korman, a Democrat who chairs the House transportation committee.
That meant Harris and others with 2000-2005 cars will need to get standard tags, and possibly an inspection, when their historic ones expire.
"I understand there are abusers out there, but why should the innocent be punished for the guilty?" said Michael Lechlitner, a 67-year-old retired intelligence officer who often posts about the issue in car-themed Facebook groups.
He and other local car enthusiasts are pressing state lawmakers to make a U-turn during the 90-day legislative session starting next week in Annapolis.
Lechlitner wants the state to return to a rolling definition, and said he's fine with a stricter 25 years instead of 20. It helps that his 2001 Panoz Esperante, which currently has historic tags, would just fall into that range.
The American-made car is one of only 347 built, he said, and a Panoz once won a 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in its class.
"Tell me it's not historic," Lechlitner said.
Vince Davis, a contractor with historic tags on his 2005 Cadillac Escalade, endorses the status for cars like his, built midway through George W. Bush's presidency. "When you look at things like the classic rock station," he said, "anything that's over 10 years old is classic now."
States across the U.S. have long offered historic or antique plates, and 25-year rules are common, said Steve Moskowitz, chief executive of the Antique Automobile Club of America in Hershey, Pa.
Scofflaws hurt the hobby, Moskowitz said. "We don't want to see somebody that's got a '91 Cutlass Ciera with 300,000 miles on it and using it every day to get back and forth to work and cheating the system."
Critics often cite safety concerns over the older cars. One person wrote on Facebook about seeing "borderline junk yard cars quite regularly." Another wrote, "People driving beat up, dime a dozen F150s have ruined it for people who were doing genuine restorations and such."
Maryland's MVA issued about 60,000 historic tags in 2024, the year before the crackdown. That was a 34% jump from 2021. Close to 60% were for 2000-2004 model year cars. Most common were Chevy Silverados, Ford F-150s and Honda Accords.
State Sen. Justin Ready pointed to the jump in registration fees as a likely factor. Standard tags for heavier SUVs have doubled since mid-2024, to $19 1.50 a year. Historic tags cost $55.50 a year. The Republican said he doesn't condone owners breaking the rules to save cash but gets why they would.
Maryland's legislature, controlled by Democrats, poked a proverbial hornet's nest by altering the rules last year, he said: "A lot of these people with historic tags are people with time on their hands, so they can look up their delegate."
Grigory Steshenko, 38, has complained publicly about the changes, including what he said was the short notice. The historic tags on his 2002 Nissan Xterra expired Jan. 1. The IT worker uses the truck for farm runs and periodic off-roading, he said, and worries it might fail the state's "pointlessly rigorous" inspection, denying him the required standard tags.
The state mandates an inspection if one isn't on file under the current owner; most post-1999 historic tag holders are in that position, the MVA said.
"This is just spitting into the people's faces," said Steshenko, who also has two cars with standard plates. He said the state could combat cheating by shrinking the price difference between regular and historic plates, and by pairing mileage limits with odometer checks.
Other ideas being bandied about by automobile aficionados: requiring residents to put standard tags on one car before getting historic tags for another, to show drivers have a legal everyday ride. And maybe simply calling them "alternative" tags.
The legislature appears likely to approve a rolling 25-year definition. Korman said he backs the tweak, contained in a bill from Delegate Steven Johnson, who owns two 1960s vehicles.
Johnson said he would also seek to grandfather in 2000-2005 historic tag holders.
"They got historic tags under the language of the law," the Democrat said. "Why make those people go through all those changes, jump through all those hoops and expenses?"
Not every vintage car lover is thrilled. Dan Richter, an engineer restoring a 1970 Buick Gran Sport, can't get behind the idea.
"You're giving people amnesty for having broken the law," Richter, 58, said of the daily drivers. "When I see these people on the road with historic tags, it annoys me. Because I know eventually it's going to screw it up for the hobbyist."
Write to Scott Calvert at scott.calvert@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 09, 2026 12:37 ET (17:37 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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