Arizonan here who can't stand the new plate (and who also doesn't care for the plate in the article). The current plate's kitschy cactus-and-horizon drawing fades into a blob when viewed from greater than ~4', i.e., the normal viewing distance. The older maroon plate with the raised cactus symbol was far superior, IMHO.

http://www.15q.net/us1/az81a.jpg