Ranking Every State Police Vehicle From the '2026 Best Looking Cruiser' Contest
American Association of State Troopers – This is your last weekend to cast your vote for America's Best Looking Cruiser!
Voting closes Monday, July 13, at 12:00 p.m. (Noon).
Once the winning state's Colonel has been notified, we will officially announce the winner to the public on our website at www.statetroopers.org.
The race is incredibly close, so every vote counts! Please continue sharing the link below with your friends, family, and supporters to help spread the word.
Our country needs infinitely more contests like this. Every state submits their best (something), and the nation votes on a winner. I love it. It's fun, digestible, competitive content. Shoutout to all the state police departments across the United States, most of whom really put their best foot forward in this competition.
I wasn't exactly sure how I should go about reviewing, or ranking the state highway patrol vehicles of all 50 states. It's too subjective to rank 1 through 50. How do I weigh a truck vs a Mustang? How do I measure a state who's picture showcases a single vehicle against a state with multiple vehicles and a horse? How much stock do I put into the picture itself.. the scenery in the background... the amount of effort put into the photoshoot... etc.?
In the end, I'm not entirely sure what I decided. My blog generally goes in order of least favorite to favorite. I used categories. Some categories are better than others.
Looks Bad
It's a beautiful horse, but of all the vehicles I sifted through for this blog, Georgia is the only state with a cruiser I genuinely think looks bad. I often enjoy a blue and orange color combo. That patrol car might work on campus in Gainesville, Florida. But not in Georgia. Unless the cops in Georgia have gotten so used to chasing down Georgia Bulldog football players, they figured they might as well wear the colors of their rival.
Boring
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I'm most disappointed in Colorado and Oregon. As you'll find later on in this blog, tree heavy states, and states with beautiful scenery often deliver something special. Oftentimes they have cool trucks, or SUV's. But Colorado's cruiser stinks. At least they found themselves a nice bridge (although a snowy purple mountain backdrop would have been better). Oregon looks like they took their picture out back behind the sheriff's office.
If there's one car in 'Boring' that might deserve better, it's Arkansas. I like the minimalist blue stripe on a white backdrop. But it's just not enough. Sorry guys. Better luck next year.
Boring But There's a Cannon
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Love the cannon Virginia. Can't help but wonder who it was shooting at.
Boring But Good Logo
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I'm intrigued by Maine's use of a bright, almost neon green. You don't see that often in law enforcement. And I will admit, I may have bumped Ohio up a category because it's my home state. Ohio's flying tire logo is decent. It's not bad. But neither Maine or Ohio have logos as strong as Utah's beehive, or South Dakota's Mount Rushmore.
Saved By The Maryland Flag
I'm a sucker for the Maryland flag. I love when Maryland sports teams (or government entities) incorporate it into their designs. I would have dropped this to the "Boring But Good Logo" category, but that little extra detail with the Maryland flag stripe on the back end of the cruiser bumped it up a notch.
Saved By The Dog
Cool Bug, North Dakota
Cool bug, North Dakota. This enormous cricket is part of North Dakota's famed Enchanted Highway. It's a 32-mile stretch of road in southwest North Dakota that features some of the world's largest scrap metal sculptures. Personally, I would have gone with the scrap metal mouse fighting the scrap metal dragon. Or maybe the scrap metal cow. Or scrap metal pigeon.
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But apparently the big cricket is what North Dakota believe to be the Enchanted Highway's #1 feature.
What The Hell, Mississippi?
What in the name of evil science is going on at the Mississippi Department of Public Safety? What type of kooky experiments are they running in there? Apparently Mississippi submitted this photo titled, "The Future Meets The Past". Which is a neat idea. The picture itself is certainly electric. But what part of this is the future? The Crown Victoria? Is this some sort of movie reference I don't understand? Cool picture Mississippi, I'm just not sure I get it.
Should Be Illegal
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What the hell is that, Connecticut? There doesn't seem to be a single defining marker on your state police vehicles. And all of your lights are hidden on the inside. That's cheating. At least give drivers a fighting chance.
Ok Car, Better Helicopter
Shame on the other 48 states who did not choose to incorporate their police chopper in their submission. It's the coolest method of transportation they have. I can't say I'm a big fan of either cruiser, but I respect their 'copters.
Boring (Part 2)
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These cruisers didn't immediately jump off the screen to me as "boring". But as I put together my categories, and states such as Delaware, Kentucky, and Montana didn't have anywhere to go, I was hit with the realization, "Oh wow. These are boring too."
Also, how often does Montana really get to experience the Northern Lights like that? The internet tells me it's several times a year. But with the Northern Lights, the pictures always look 10x better than what they do in person. Northern Lights pictures are cheating.
Weird Picture Angle
Weird angle for that picture, Wisconsin. I think they wanted to demonstrate what a Wisconsin State Patrol vehicle looks like while handcuffed on the ground should you try and resist arrest.
Boring But There's 3 of Them
Rhode Island is doing a similar past-future thing to Mississippi. But Rhode Island is showing off 3 eras of cruiser. And their middle era cruiser seems to be Mississippi is referring to as "future". Tough look, Mississippi.
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Fun Use of Neon
Alabama and Oklahoma must have been pissed when they saw each others submissions for the first time. "Really guys? You found the most neon background for your picture too? Fuck, I thought we were original"
The design of Alabama's cruisers are unremarkable, and without the neon would surely be in the boring category. But I was torn on Oklahoma. For some reason, I want to like them. I just can't figure out what that reason could possibly be. Maybe I'm just being fooled by the old-timey highway patrol car.
Tried to Fool Us With Championships
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I like what Indiana is doing. Indiana doesn't have the natural scenery for a stunning photoshoot, but they were smart enough to use the best thing they have going for them – The Indiana Football Hoosiers. It's a pretty nice shade of blue on those cruisers as well. If Indiana can tap into the Hoosiers fan base and stuff the ballot box, they might just be able to win this thing.
North Carolina had the same idea as Indiana, except North Carolina is actually a beautiful state. There must have been better options than the exterior of the Lenovo Center. I know their team just won the Stanley Cup, but the excitement around the Carolina Hurricanes doesn't come close to matching what Indiana had in college football.
Maybe North Carolina simply wanted to raise awareness that the Carolina Hurricanes do in fact play in their state. If you ran a poll, I bet there's a lot of casual sports fans who'd be 50/50 on whether the Carolina Hurricanes played in the north, or the south.
Tried To Fool Us With Planes
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I see what you're doing Arizona, Nevada, and South Carolina. I respect the effort. Neither state is coming with a vehicle that's going to blow our socks off. South Carolina's is as average as they come. I like the way Arizona and Nevada incorporate the diagonal stripe. At the end of the day, these states knew they weren't winning the competition. But hey… that's a pretty sick plane you got there.
Trucks
In my mind, state troopers in trucks demand more respect than officers in any other vehicle. The designs themselves are nothing to write home about, but any state police pick-up truck automatically has an edge over a car or SUV.
Most Unique
Michigan's State Troopers all have those ridiculous big red solo lights on the tops of their vehicles. I've always thought they looked kinda silly. But they're unique, and easily identifiable. I appreciate that.
When I saw these police cruisers I thought, "Those are slick".
I like them. I don't love them. I'd probably like Idaho's more if the picture was taken from an angle where I could actually make out the side of the car.
Random story – One time I was in the passengers seat on the way to a ski trip in Vermont with Pat (Gay), and a New York State Trooper pulled us over. Pat got a ticket for speeding. A few minutes after we drove off he said, "Oh shit, I forgot to show him my friend of police card."
Question – Do those "Friend of Police" cards actually work? There's not a chance in hell I'd have to balls to whip one of those out.
Great (But Might Be Getting Fooled By Surroundings)
Do I really love the thick diagonal blue stripe and yellow badge on that Alaska State Trooper truck, or is it just a nice truck driving through water on a beautiful mountain range? Do I really love the simplicity of Louisiana's State Police cruisers, or am I being fooled by cool trees and a good dog? Same with New Jersey. I like the motorcycle. I like the dog. But do I really like the blue and yellow stripes? There's no way to know for sure.
Honorable Mentions
Good effort New Hampshire. If you'd tried a little harder on the picture I might have bumped you up a category. For the Washington State Patrol car, I'm almost certain I'm just being fooled by the cool ominous background
3 Favorites (Colors Division)
Three beautiful, colorful state police vehicles that perfectly fit the state they patrol. They're classy. They're easy to identify. Whoever took these pictures took their time to make sure they came out great. Congratulations to Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Vermont. Well done.
3 Favorites (Black & White Division)
That murdered out Texas car with the black tinted windows and LED light strips on the undercarriage looks more like it's on the run from the law than enforcing it. The Tennessee State Trooper SUV is subtle, but classy. The design is almost a bit of a throwback. And the California Highway Patrol car is a timeless classic. No notes.
Canada
Just kidding. Canada wasn't a part of this. The end.