Every year, state police agencies take a little time out of their busy schedules to do something fun: compete for internet clout. They wrangle up their coolest police cars, stage them in places they think will look great, and then put them up against agencies from every other state in an online poll.
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And sometimes they just Photoshop a bunch of stuff together in a way that’ll have you wonder if an inexperienced intern did the work. The 2025 Best-Looking Cruiser contest just wrapped up and while we wait for the official winner, we think we have something just as exciting: the Carscoops Totally Unofficial Cruiser Awards.
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First up, let’s kick things off with the “Doing The Most” award. This gets handed out to the department that just shows up with maximum energy. It must be eye-catching, surprising or even shocking. Plenty of departments took this year’s assignment very seriously. Most photos submitted for the competition feature a famous building in the background or a nature scene perfectly encapsulating the state.
The officers in Kansas don’t have any giant mountains, scenic vistas with giant rivers or canyons in the back, but they did figure out a way: they parked a couple of good’ole Dodges in front of Prairie Thunder, a stunning piece of artwork crafted by Christian Stanley in Clay Center, Kansas. It absolutely makes this image stand out in a place so flat that standing out is kinda easy.
Next up is the “Doing the Least” award. This goes out to the department that most exemplified the fine art of not caring about this competition enough to do anything about it. To their credit, for all we know, they did care but were simply too busy to pull off better pictures. Notably, there were very few contestants because most did at least a little staging.
Our winner for 2025 is none other than the state of Pennsylvania. Of all the things this state is famous for, one would think that officers could stage an amazing photo for entry. Nevertheless, it appears as though they forgot this competition was coming and just snapped a picture of a police Tahoe in the middle of an average winter day. The road isn’t clear, the scene isn’t particularly breathtaking, and nothing really distinguishes this as Pennsylvania. Hey, at least they did get an award, right?
The “Best Dog” award should be pretty obvious. Credit for it goes not to the state that clearly tried to bias votes by placing man’s best friend in the photo, but to the pups themselves. This year, Ohio (seen in our lead image), North Dakota, and Colorado all put a very good dog in their photos. It was the last of those three that got the win, though. While all dogs deserve this award, Colorado included not just a great puppo but also a Ford Mustang, which just adds to the cool factor.
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Best Backdrop is an all-encompassing award that goes beyond something as cool as Prairie Thunder behind some cars. It goes to the state that leverages the most iconography it can and does so in a beautiful way. This year, the award has to go to California. Plenty of states had good backdrops but just look at this. The Golden Gate Bridge, a sailboat, and the iconic CHP cruiser livery on a modern Charger. It’s a great composition.
Obviously, “Worst Backdrop” is of course, the exact opposite of our last award. It points out entries that seemingly had no idea what they were doing but unlike in the case of Pennsylvania, the background isn’t even naturally beautiful. This year, Wyoming gets the win because when most of us think of a state that houses Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park, we think of drop-dead gorgeous (some might even say life-changing) vistas. Yet, somehow, this is the photo Wyoming submitted.
I don’t know what those buildings are in the background. Perhaps they have some sort of historical significance but I doubt it; you can look them up if you’d like. They are utterly disappointing compared to what is available in the state. Come on, Wyoming – you can do better.
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Next up let’s hand out one of my personal favorites, the Underappreciated Award. This was initially going to be what I thought was the “Most Photoshopped” award, but after a little digging, that just wasn’t suitable. Nevada’s entry features the Hoover Dam, a Mustang that looks strangely lit, and some Bighorn sheep. Clearly, the photo you see below is just a bunch of stuff photoshopped together, right? No.
The photographer, T. Nathan Grant of TNG Photography, tells Carscoops that “The car was there and lit piece by piece. A combined 50-60 images of it were used to create the effect but it WAS in that location. The sheep were requested to be Photoshopped in.” So yes, the animals didn’t make a real appearance but the work that went into this photo is no doubt some of the most effort anybody put into any of these photos.
The “Coolest Cop Car” award is one that the voters will ultimately pick but being that this is a car website and we do love our cars the winner seems obvious. Car chases can be dangerous and even deadly and should probably not be a thing anymore but if they’ve got to happen, ending them quickly is key. Florida’s Corvette can do exactly that, even though we suspect it actually ends up used much more for publicity than real police work. It just so happens to be set in a great spot with a great backdrop too.
Finally, let’s end with a bang on “The Best Animal” award. “But didn’t we already do Best Dogs,” I hear some of you thinking and yes, we did. But animals of all shapes deserve some love and it’s hard not to appreciate Oklahoma’s entry.
Forget the car, let’s put a big bison in front of the car and give it some camera time. It’s a great photo that still manages to encapsulate the state’s natural beauty and the bison is even staring dead straight into the lens. A fitting winner of the Best Animal award. Honorable mention goes to the horse from Texas.
So there you have it. This year’s parade of push bars, prop dogs and Photoshopping turned stunning artwork. Some cruisers earned our respect. Others earned a healthy helping of side-eye. All of them reminded us just how vast the personality differences of different departments can be. We can’t wait to see what they do next year.