Vehicles and Mechanical Vehicles, especially those running on petrol, are generally rare in the Fallout Universe. The most common means of transport are brahmin carts. The super mutant army is also said to have used some steam-powered trucks.
The Great War was fought mainly for resources. The last resources remaining were probably depleted in the war itself. Without resources, vehicles couldn't be driven anymore. Furthermore, it is generally accepted that after the war, much of the human knowledge was lost. The knowledge of how to tend to the high tech fusion cars that existed before the war was lost, and with it the necessary skills to repair the cars. This does not mean that there are no old vehicles that have been kept funtional OR that someone out in the wastes could not have invented/innovated their own vehicles, but such instances are extremely rare outside of technologically advanced groups
(id est: groups that have overcome the struggle for basic survival and can put resources towards
researching old/new technologies).
Fallout 1
There were no drivable vehicles in Fallout but many vehicles can be seen as a Fuel Truck, many varieties of cars or a Nuka-Cola Truck.
Vehicles Seen
- Brahmin Cart
- Corvega
- Fuel Truck
- Many Varieties of Cars
- Nuka-Cola Truck
- Small Alien Saucer
Fallout 2
The Highwayman
Fallout 2 featured a fully working car, the Highwayman, and high tech flying machines, known as Vertibirds. It is also mentioned that the NCR military includes mechanized forces, though this could also refer to any soldiers equipped with Power Armor. Given the presence of car mechanics in NCR and a car chop-shop in New Reno, it is probable that some form of automobile was present in the NCR's mechanized units.
Drivable Vehicle
Vehicles Seen
- Brahmin Cart
- Space Shuttle
- Vertibird
Fallout 3
In Fallout 3, there are no drivable vehicles, although there are hundreds of highly explosive, derelict vehicles that will explode violently a short while after being damaged. When a vehicle explodes, the resulting explosion can cause other vehicles close to it to explode causing a deadly chain reaction. This particularly happens in drive-ins and on highways. There are also Enclave-controlled Vertibirds. They appear at Raven Rock and on random encounters occupied by squads of Enclave soldiers. In the Add on Broken Steel the player can visit the interior of the Brotherhood of Steel's unique vertibird, which they have captured.
It is also conceivable that once civilization has recovered enough in a given area that vehicles beyond brahmin carts will appear. These vehicles could be restored pre-war machines or they could be some form of steam-powered machines.
Strangely, most vehicles appear to be run on nuclear fission as most of them have an exhaust at the back (specifically buses) that say "Warning: Radiation" on them. However, it is not known if vehicles are run on just nuclear fission or on petroleum with nuclear fission. On inspection of an apparent fueling station with a red rocket on the roof in Springvale (Close to Vault 101 and Megaton), on the ground there are manhole covers with a warning sign located beside them stating "Danger, Petroleum". However, they are probably fission cars, since gas powered cars don't produce radiation and no other power sources are ever mentioned (fission and gas), at least not in such numbers. It has also been mentioned that due to the small numbers of natural resources that remained before the Great War, there was an increase in pressure in the production of fission cars. Due to the small resources remaining, and their cost, only a small number of fission cars were produced, and with a high price tag. However, they apparently were sold straight away despite the price, as people may not have had any transport due to petroleum being too scarce to use in automobiles.
In Fallout 3 DLC, the Player is required to use a tram cart to enter and exit The Pitt, which is can be assumed is either automated or the tunnels leading to The Pitt contain only one set of tracks, as the reason given for using the tram is that the tunnels are too dark and numerous to ever navigate on foot.
The Player also can ride an underground sub way train in the Presidential Metro during the main questline of the Broken Steel add-on.
The PC is also able to take ride on the ruined pre war ferry, the Duchess Gambit, as a means of entering or exiting Point Lookout. The ferry is captained by Tobar originaly but changes hands as the main questline of the DLC progresses. The PC is required to sleep in a cabin on the main deck to start the journey to or from Point Lookout but is treated to a short cut scene where the view from the ferry as it docks is watched when entering Point Lookout for the first time.
Vehicles Seen
- Bomber
- City Liner
- Chimera
- Corvega
- Many Derelict vehicles
- Duchess Gambit
- Mothership Zeta
- Nuka-Cola Truck
- Small Alien Ship
- SSN-37-1A
- Vertibird
Fallout: New Vegas
- Corvega
- Long Caravan
Fallout Tactics
Fallout Tactics featured many vehicles that the player could operate. The cars in the game do not appear to actually use gas as there are no emissions of any kind. Also, Fallout Tactics is set in what is the heart land of the automotive industry, giving some argument to the plausible presence of functioning vehicles. The vehicles are also used exclusively by the Brotherhood of Steel, who would have the technical know-how to get vehicles functioning.
However, since there are still untouched reserves of pre-war tech (like the Sierra Army Depot), it is reasonable to assume that vehicles will continue to have a presence in the Fallout universe. If the Den is capable of keeping a fusion car from rotting, imagine what a more advanced town might have squirreled away.
Drivable Vehicles
- Armored Personnel Carrier
- Buggy
- Hummer
- Nuke Carrier
- Scouter
- Tank
Vehicles Seen
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
There were no drivable vehicles in Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel but many vehicles can be seen as a Transport Truck, an Ice Cream Truck or a Caravan.
Vehicles Seen
- Caravan
- Ice Cream Truck
- Transport Truck
Van Buren
Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios, featured many drivable vehicles, including a train.
Drivable Vehicles
- Boudicca-78/S
- Buggy
- Cop Car
- Mobile science lab
- Truck
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