MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The folks who keep the world supplied with Elvis T-shirts and coffee mugs have a new project in the works — an Elvis Presley (search) license plate.
Not a fake Elvis license plate, mind you, but a real one sanctioned by the state of Tennessee.
Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. (search) can move ahead with its plan when 1,000 orders for the plates are assured. The state requires that minimum number of sales to approve a so-called specialty license plate, which costs $35 more than a regular tag.
If approved, the Elvis license plates would be available only for cars registered in the state of Tennessee. Proceeds would go to the Regional Medical Center, the Memphis region's main publicly supported hospital and home of the Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Center. (search)
The license plate would feature an image of Presley with a guitar and "1956" in large, bold numbers. That was the year Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" made No. 1 on the pop music charts.
Tennessee already has 150 such plates that brought in $8.4 million last year.
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