CarCatcher
The questions car people ask most, answered: how to name any car you see, where to find meets and supercars near you, and how to keep track of everything you've spotted.
Look at the badges first, then the shape of the headlights, tail lights and grille, which change with every generation. If there is no badge in shot, a car identification app is far quicker than a reverse image search, which usually returns lookalikes.
Yes. Car identification apps use AI trained on car photos to name a car from a single picture. The best ones work from any angle and on cars with the badges removed.
Each generation has its own headlights, tail lights, bumpers and wheels, and facelifts usually change the lights mid-generation. Compare those details against photos of each model year. The VIN also encodes the model year (the 10th character) if you can see it.
Rarity comes down to how many were built and how many are left on the road. Limited editions, hypercars and older cars that were produced in small numbers are the ones spotters chase.
Debadged cars are identified by their shape: the headlight and tail light design, the grille, the side window line and the wheel arches. These are hard to change, so they give the model away even when the badges are gone.
A supercar is a high-performance exotic, like a Lamborghini Huracan or McLaren 720S. A hypercar sits above that: very limited production, extreme performance and a seven-figure price, like a Bugatti Chiron or Koenigsegg Jesko.
Car spotting is finding and photographing interesting cars in the wild: on the street, at dealerships, at meets and at events. Spotters keep track of what they've seen and trade their best finds online.
Look for an app that identifies the car for you, keeps a collection of everything you've spotted, and lets you see what other spotters are finding.
Exotic dealerships, upscale shopping areas, hotels, marinas, coastal roads and weekend Cars and Coffee meets are the classic spots. Early weekend mornings and sunny evenings are best.
Some spotters keep a camera roll album or a spreadsheet, but that gets messy fast and doesn't tell you what each car is.
Crouch down to the car's level, shoot at a three-quarter angle from the front, and avoid harsh midday sun. Step back and zoom in slightly so the car isn't distorted, and keep the background clean.
In most places you can photograph cars that are visible from a public street. Stay on public ground, don't touch the car, and if the owner asks you not to post their plate or their car, respect that.
Car Catcher only needs one photo of the car to identify it, so you can catch it quickly and move on.
Search Instagram and Facebook Events for "car meet" or "cars and coffee" plus your city name. Local car clubs, performance dealerships, Eventbrite, Meetup and your city's subreddit or car Discord also post meets, often the same week.
Cars and Coffee style meets usually run early on Saturday or Sunday mornings, often from around 7 to 10 am. Evening meets are more common on Friday and Saturday nights, especially in summer.
Most informal car meets and Cars and Coffee events are free to attend as a spectator. Organised car shows sometimes charge for entry or for showing a car.
Car Catcher is free to download too, so a meet can fill your collection without costing a thing.
Cars and Coffee is a relaxed morning car meet, usually in a large parking lot, where anyone can bring a car or just walk around and look. Many cities have one every week or every month.
No. Spectators are welcome at almost every meet. Park in the general lot and walk in. Plenty of people go just to look at the cars and take photos.
You don't need a car to collect them. Bring Car Catcher and catch every car at the meet.
Don't touch a car without asking. No burnouts, revving or speeding in or out, which is the number one reason meets get shut down. Pick up your trash and leave space for others to take photos.
Most spotters post their best finds on Instagram or TikTok, often with the make and model in the caption and a tag for the location.
Beyond racing games, car spotting has become a real-world game: spotters compete over who finds the rarest cars and who finds the most.
Go to meets, talk to owners, and look up every car you don't recognise. Learning to name cars on sight comes fast once you start paying attention to lights, grilles and proportions.