A couple weeks ago I had a chance to take a little trip to Vancouver and along with taking lots of scenic and city photos, I also took part in one of my favourite activities: car spotting.
You can car spot in any city really, but the larger cities are a better “habitat” for exotics such as Ferraris and Lamborghinis. I say “habitat” because I equate car watching to any other type of wildlife watching. For example, if you’re bird watching, you won’t see a parrot in Calgary, so travelling to Aruba or the Dominican Republic is a chance for you to see something you normally wouldn’t. It’s exactly the same idea with car spotting.
Anyone can take part. It’s all a matter of how certain cars move you (no pun intended). If you’re like me, you really like seeing the exotics-the cars that you normally don’t see everyday on Canadian roads. I read a lot of car magazines and attend quite a few car shows throughout the year but when you actually see those vehicles on the road in real life, it’s like finally seeing a famous work of art face to face.
That’s what they are, works of art. I’ve always thought that cars are the perfect blend of science and beauty, some more than others obviously. Once you get into car spotting, you can start appreciating a vehicle not just for how it looks but how it sounds and moves.
Listening for a good car is almost as fun as actually seeing it, especially in a city. Most of the time you’ll be able to hear the concussive roar of an approaching Audi R8 reverberating between the buildings long before it comes into your line of sight. You’ll start to notice they have a different sound.
Professional car spotters often look like crazy people when they suddenly stop on the middle of a sidewalk, staring blankly into the sky as they try to predict if that growl is going to result in an Aston Martin Vanquish or a Porsche GT3 RS coming around the next corner. Your friends will probably get annoyed too when you tell them to shut up in the middle of a conversation so you can listen for the driver of a Nissan GT-R to give it a little rev off the line. But in my experience, they’ll start to realize that car spotting is fun and soon join in with you.
If you don’t live in a large centre with ample arrays of Lamborghinis and Porsches, you can always start looking for the unique ones. I’ve seen a Harlequin Volkswagen Golf, Tesla Roadster and several vintage muscle cars here in Lethbridge. You can usually watch for some good ones on Mayor Magrath Drive about mid-spring and of course, take in the Street Machines Weekend cruise to see some astonishing local vehicles.