1999 AMC 8 Problem 15

Bicycle license plates in Flatville each contain three letters. The first is chosen from the set {C,H,L,P,R}, the second from {A,I,O}, and the third from {D,M,N,T}.

When Flatville needed more license plates, they added two new letters. The new letters may both be added to one set or one letter may be added to one set and one to another set. What is the largest possible number of ADDITIONAL license plates that can be made by adding two letters?

\text{(A)}\ 24 \qquad \text{(B)}\ 30 \qquad \text{(C)}\ 36 \qquad \text{(D)}\ 40 \qquad \text{(E)}\ 60

Full credit goes to MAA for authoring these problems. These problems were taken on the AOPS website.