You know the rubber mounting kit you attach to your bumper and then you screw the license plate to that? Somehow I managed to hook the bottom of the one on the front of the car to a parking curb when we went out this morning. I got home and discovered that one of the rubber brackets holding it to the bumper had torn free, and the plate was hanging vertically from one screw. That set off a scramble, starting with “what the heck do you call this thing?”

Anyway, I took it off and went down to the closest Napa Parts place, carrying it inside with me. The guy behind the counter had no clue what it’s called either, so he went paging through his parts book looking for it. Eventually he found a part which looked like it would fit, and the store even had it in stock. I forked over $5.98 for it, came home, and installed it. It works like a charm.

However, on the way down there the “Passenger Airbag Off” light came on in both the speedometer panel and overhead above the rear view mirror. Now I have to figure out whether I can find the switch and turn it back on or whether I have to take it to the dealer. If the latter, that’ll be a pretty penny, I suspect.