Vehicle-Based Characterization - TV Tropes

• Scientific and nerdy Bubbles has a customized rover loaded with a variety of gadgets.
• Hot-headed and masculine Fuse has a large monster truck with a grille decal that matches his fire tattoo.
• Tidy and fastidious Jeff has a modern smart car in a bland color.
• New girl Lulu has a caravan, which is also her living space.
• Girly and sweet Newt has a pedal-powered flower cart.
• Prank-happy and noisy Pogo has an ice cream truck, which also doubles as his career.
• Cool and socially-conscious Slick has a custom paint job sports car.
• Lazy and sloppy Zee has a tractor.

• Clever, crafty Weslie rides an excavator named Dakuaitou.
• Fashionista Tibbie rides a hoverboat named Princess Sai, who is pink and wears a ribbon to accentuate her femininity.
• Lazy crybaby Paddi rides a baby carriage named Xianxingzhe.
• Sporty Sparky rides a fire truck called Big General. He previously demonstrated an interest in fighting fires in Joys of Seasons episode 6 and continues this interest in later seasons.
• Jonie rides a plane called Paitoubing, who like her, sometimes leads everyone astray by flying straight when it shouldn't have to.
• Village chief Slowy rides a motorcycle named Xiaotiantian with a small snail shell-like appendage on it, likely referencing Granny Snail from earlier seasons. Slowy would frequently be seen riding on the Speedy Snail, contrasting his Slower Than a Snail walking.

• Arlo drives a black sports car featuring a number of bumper stickers, including a sophomoric challenge to anyone complaining about his driving, the insignia of several bands, and a faded Team Valor emblem. This establishes his immature personality, prioritization of edginess over practicality, and that he's not as disconnected from his past as he'd like to think.
• Blanche's car is eminently practical, being a recent, but not brand new model of standard shape and featuring some decoration in the form of magnets carefully positioned to not block visibility, demonstrating Blanche's focus on practicality and safety.

• JJ McClure drives a Dodge Tradesman ambulance fitted with an upscaled engine. He's a charmingly devious fellow, seeking to thwart police by claiming to be transporting a patient cross-country.
• Formula One icon Jamie Blake and his teammate Morris Fenderbaum, also charmingly devious, dress as Catholic priests while driving a 1979 Ferrari 308 GTS, on the theory that law enforcement won't ticket or arrest the clergy.
• Jill Rivers and Marcie Thatcher, two attractive vixens in skintight jumpsuits, race in a black Lamborghini Countach. Fast women, indeed.
• Two Asian drivers (names not given) race in a high-tech Subaru GL 4WD hatchback with a rocket booster engine and night vision viewscreen, representative of their being Asian and Nerdy. They plan to whizz past law enforcement by running without headlights at night, and with radar-jammers.
• Terry and Mel, two Good Ol' Boys, drive a replica of a Winston Cup Chevrolet stock car, filled with gallons of beer and two bags of Doritos.
• Seymour Goldfarb (played by Roger Moore) is a rich British playboy who drives a silver Aston Martin DB5. And it has the Q-class extras that are de rigeur for a Bond car.
• A wealthy Arab Oil Sheikh drives a white Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow with gold trim. He doesn't need the prize money; he's in the race because "I am destined..."

• Based on their function: Transformers might choose an alternate mode that helps with their function. For example:
  • Starscream is often the leader of the Decepticon air forces and so nearly always transforms into a fighter aircraft. Some versions, such as the Transformers: Cybertron version of Starscream, transform into fighter spacecraft instead.
  • The various incarnations of Warpath often transform into some sort of tank, reflecting his function as Autobot heavy artillery. This is atypical for an Autobot, among whom military vehicle modes are rare.
  • Several incarnations of Bumblebee (except for his movie counterpart) transform into fairly innocuous vehicles, helping his function as a spy. Examples of this include the Volkswagen Beetle mode he originally started out with, while in the Alternity toy line he updated into the ubiquitous Suzuki Swift (a car that's a familiar sight on many roads in Japan and other parts of Asia).
• Based on their personalities: A Transformer might choose an alternate mode based on their own preferences. For example:
  • This can often apply to the entire factions; with the Autobots and Decepticons generally favoring contrasting themes for their vehicle modes (and the Decepticons generally choosing forms that are more aggressive). For instance, in Transformers: Animated, the core team of Autobots are all various Emergency Services ground vehicles (reflecting their heroic natures), while the main Decepticons (with the exception of Blackarachnia, who is stuck with a beast form instead) are airborne military machines (going for superior firepower). In the Transformers Film Series (at least the first film), it's civilian vehicles (identifying with the people of Earth) versus heavy-duty military and police hardware (intimidation, and projecting authority they can abuse).
  • Knock Out from Transformers: Prime is notable among the Decepticons for having a sports car alternate mode whereas the rest of Decepticon High Command all transform into aircraft. He explicitly explains he chose his alternate mode because he found it stylish.
  • Galvatron of Beast Wars II chose a dragon and a drill tank to be his alternate modes due to his belief they were the most powerful of the alternate modes available to him.
  • When the Dinobot Grimlock was given a car mode as part of the Alternity toy line, his alternate mode was a Ford Mustang. This reflected his "brute force" mentality, as the Mustang was viewed as a powerful muscle car compared to the other characters like Starscream with his sleek supercar mode or the aforementioned Bumblebee and his unassuming Suzuki Swift form.
• Based on their names: Some Transformers choose alternate modes that happen to line up nicely with their names. On occasion, Transformers actually change their names to suit their new modes better.
  • The Autobot medic First Aid adopted an ambulance as his alternate mode, viewing it as an obvious choice considering his name and temperament (he would rather spend a battle tending to the wounded than actually engaging in combat).
• All of the above:
  • Cosmos from the G1 series transforms into a classic "flying saucer" spaceship as part of his function as orbital spy. He's also noted to be a bit "spacey" at times (at least partially due to long periods of time being alone in orbit). Plus his name...
  • Drillhorn of Transformers Victory transforms into a Drill Tank. He has "drill" in his name and while officially his function is strategist he's also the Decepticon siege expert. Additionally, one of his noted weaknesses is that once he's set on a course of action it's very difficult to get him to change direction: the same problem one would have with a drill.

Despite what you hear, it's not really a matter of economics. It's an image issue. In America, you are what you drive. Go out in the garage. There you are. Well, my old hoopy has joined the cripples on the edge of the herd. A new vehicle (image) is in order.

• Jimmy McGill drives a beat-up Suzuki Esteem, which is mostly yellow except for one red door. It symbolizes his low self-esteem and poverty, with the red door representing his dubious morality and descent into the world of crime. In Season 6, he purchases the 1997 Cadillac DeVille also seen in Breaking Bad (with vanity plate "LWYRUP") in response to Kim's comments that his Saul Goodman persona would drive something "American made" and "showy".
• Howard Hamlin drives a green Jaguar XJ8 with a vanity plate that says "NAMAST3", symbolizing his Bourgeois Bohemian tendencies.

• Walter White drives a gray-green Pontiac Aztek, a "sport recreational vehicle" that became an infamous flop. Practical yet forgettable, it matches the mild-mannered, underperforming family man he is at the beginning of the series.
• Gustavo Fring drives a Volvo station wagon from the late 90s, which serves to emphasize his status as an Affluent Ascetic determined not to draw attention to how he spends his money.

• The various starships Enterprise tend to be cutting-edge science vessels, naturally reflecting the ideals and personality of both The Federation and their respective captains (Kirk, Picard, Archer, etc) who are Bold Explorers.
• Deep Space Nine: The U.S.S. Defiant, which is assigned to Sisko and DS9 in Season 3, is not a conventional multipurpose starship, but rather a Pint-Sized Powerhouse warship. Not the kind of thing Kirk or Picard would appreciate, but for a Knight in Sour Armor like Sisko and his Proud Warrior Race Guy StratOps officer Worf, it's a match made in heaven.
• Invoked in Voyager's "Relativity" when Admiral Patterson described the titular starship to Janeway as "quick and smart... like her captain."

• Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War: Dietrich "Boss" Kellerman, the flight lead of the Sibler squadron that's encountered in the Knight path of the mission "Mayhem" flies an F-4 Phantom while his students fly F-16 Falcons. Dietrich flying a Phantom represents how he's an old soldier, while his students flying F-16s are a representation of how they're a new generation of fighter pilots. However, despite Dietrich's students flying aircraft that are superior to his Phantom, he's still a better pilot than them, as he's harder to shoot down than his students.
• Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown: The SU-32 that Mihaly flies is a state-of-the-art aircraft equipped with the latest technologies such as thrust vectoring that not only reflects his determination to fly, but also his skill as a fighter pilot. The X-02 Strike Wyvern that he flies in his final showdown with Trigger further demonstrates his drive to keep flying, as it's much more advanced than the SU-32, and is even equipped with a railgun that Mihaly uses to good use.

• Lancer is first introduced riding a bike with the back wheel set on fire, and he uses it during the first two fights against him in Chapter 1, tying in with his nature as a small child who (initially) wants to be seen as an edgy, intimidating villain.
• Tying in with the Annoying Dog's nature as a trolling Author Avatar for Toby Fox, it first appears in the flesh driving a Cozy Coupe at a ludicrously fast speed, enough to instantly KO Kris. This also reflects his love of subversion—using something as innocent and wholesome as a toddler's mobility toy for very un-childlike vehicular homicide.
• Queen has a neat hover limo in the highway part of the game, reflecting her self-proclaimed VIP status. She later upgrades to a Humongous Mecha shaped like herself called Giga Queen, reflecting her comical ego and actual willingness to fight if needed.

• Papyrus is a dreamer, keeping a car even while living in the Underground (where there's nowhere to ride), in hopes of getting to the surface one day. Papyrus is also eccentric, shown by him sleeping in this car.
• During the credits, Sans rides a tricycle faster than Papyrus drives a car. This little detail shows his Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass personality.