I pulled the front plate when I bought the car, but the dealer had already drilled holes in the crossbar, and there were two more divots in the bar where the other two screws came through and hit it. When the new plates arrived I thought I would try modifying the front plate to make it less obnoxious.
It is not legal to modify a license plate, but I have done this on two other cars and never got hassled... so we'll see.




I bent the top back 180°, and the bottom back 90° so I could mount the plate using two screws into the crossbar from below. Trimmed the corners, and now I need to add a black trim around the edge if I can find the right stuff.

Here is my wife's car; did a similar thing to mount her front plate:

 

That's a pretty nice option. As you said, not legal, but it fits the "spirit" of the law.

I haven't run a front plate in California for about 20 years. My gf just joined me in that habit with her Range Rover and when she got a parking ticket, they also hit her for no front plate. We simply temporarily put one on, got it signed off and then removed it again. If it becomes a reoccurring thing, something like this might cut it.

 

That's the only reason I keep mine on: too much hassle and my time is too valuable. Love the roads in Cali but the traffic laws...not so much. I'm used to it and it doesn't seem to have tempered any of the compliments the car receives on a daily basis. Literally had someone ask if it was a Ferrari last week. Really wanted to say yes but had to be honest. Had pity on the obviously non-car person.