Ground Vehicle Names?

In a Mission I have a ground vehicle, like the Argo, just a bit larger with more seating. Federation, probably Starfleet issue.

Is there any naming convention for these types of vehicles? I’d be fine with some generic terminology, but I’d prefer to use something else that car, Jeep, SUV or Warthog. Or maybe in some supplement? I have all the books, just can’t find anything.

In Lower Decks there is some kind of ground buggy, but it is never actually named.
Thanks!

Memory Alpha uses the term “Ground Vehicle”. startrek.com describes the Argo as an “All Terrain Vehicle”.

Personally, I don’t like “ground vehicle”. Maybe “surface vehicle”?

Some ideas, just off the top of my head:

  • Planetary Vehicle / Surface Vehicle → non-spacecraft
  • Planetary Craft / Surface Craft → non-spacecraft
  • Planetary Surface Vehicle (PSV) → cars
  • Planetary Underwater Vehicle (PUV) → submarines
  • Atmospheric Planetary Vehicle (APV) → aircraft

However, the distinction between submarines and aircraft is, in this context, somewhat artificial. Both operate 3-dimensional within a medium that flows around them. It just happens that, on earth, there are two general types of fluid medium: air and water. This is not necessarily true on planetary bodies. Maybe the entire atmosphere consists of some gas that behaves more like water than like air? In this case, a submergible/underwater craft would probably be the better choice than an aircraft. There might also be some kind of ‘layered’ atmospheres, or… you get the idea.

So maybe one goes with surface attached planetary craft and floatable craft or something like that. :slight_smile:

How about Environmental Surface Vehicle/Craft (ESV/C) as a general term. @MisterX is correct, the distinction between aircraft and submarine is artificial and somewhat biased towards M-class planets. So how about “environmental” as a catch-all, similar to environmental suits. There are obviously vehicles for specific environments, such as:

  • Terrestrial Surface Vehicle → vehicle driving on the planet’s surface
  • Maritime Surface Vehicle → vehicle driving in liquid water, lava or similar
  • Aerial/Atmospheric Surface Vehicle → vehicle flying in the atmosphere

The Argo would be a Terrestrial Surface Vehicle.

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Thank you both, this helps!