It was bothering me a bit that I kept finding power armor and Fusion Cores thrown around like they were going out of style but none of the cars or appliances worked. I think I've found an acceptable explanation- one that I can live with:

INDUSTRIAL VS. MIL-SPEC DESIGN

Power armor was cutting-edge tech before the apocalypse and was designed to be durable and functional for a very long time under diverse conditions. They were built to last. Automobiles and appliances, consumer goods, were designed with a short, finite functional lifespan and made of cheap materials. We get pretty clear indications that the consumer culture before the war was built on cashing in for businesses, and on feathering the nest for the consumers.

DISTRIBUTION OF POWER ARMOR IN THE COMMONWEALTH

We are informed by the intro that the military was being heavily deployed in the Massachusetts as the bombs began to drop. We also see lots and lots of evidence about this wandering the wastes. Dead soldiers, tanks, gear, etc., are pretty much everywhere. So the suits were all over the place because this was an active, heavy deployment.

DUAL USE OF POWER CORES

The presence of relatively plentiful supplies of power cores is supported by the dual-use nature of that power source. They could be used for military equipment or civilian and as such they can be found in old industrial facilities as well as in military bases and such.

HOW THIS ALL FITS INTO CANON

I don't see any of this stuff as contradicting canon, more like elaborating upon it. The setting of the Commonwealth and the story are fleshing out more of the very end of the prewar world than previous games. Why were most of the new mechanisms and gear and tech in FO4 NOT present, from a lore perspective in previous games? To be honest I don't think the answer to that is hugely important, at least for me- I'm willing to suspend my disbelief and interest in canon if it means a better game, which I feel FO4 definitely is. But to hazard an attempt at answering that, maybe it's a regional thing. Like how today large parts of first world countries still don't have broadband internet, for example. Maybe this new tech was just first seen in areas like the commonwealth and still hadn't spread across the country.

What say you all?

I think a simple mechanical explanation is more likely. Probably, the fusion cores and power armour remain basically intact while inert, whereas the type of engines used in vehicles (hybrid diesel/fission, I believe?) are inherently unstable, and will decay over time if left immobile without regular maintenance, to the point where after several decades they become so dangerously unstable that a few stray shots can set them off.

What's the Mil-Spec designation for Sugar Bombs?

Keep in mind also that power armor is much more mobile in an environment without roads. I havent seen any real off road vehicles in Fallout (excluding Tactics with the humvees) so survivors may not have put much emphasis on maintaining or repairing cars with no roads to drive on. Now that they have elaborated on the modular nature of power armor it might also be a much simpler matter to weld together a new raider style shell for an old frame than it is to manufacture new parts for cars. Lastly, all cars by this point seem to have mini reactors in them due to the ridiculously explosive nature of them. maybe they are just too unstable to risk driving at this point. That would also explain the sensible actions taken on the West Coast to remove most old car hulls from settlements. Only a few population centers had cars about and they have been stripped down to probably safer junk piles.

Agreed. it's pretty evident that the cars' materials are deteriorating badly- rusted bodies, faulty wiring, probably rotted insulation in engine components and electrical system. They really are ticking time bombs.

I wonder if Fusion Cores are actually any more stable?

Power Armor be damned...I just want one working motorcycle with saddlebags to carry loot.

I second that.

Do like that one guy the raider were talking about did and just make engine sounds while you walk around. that would be a fun mod to run with

yeah, but I have also seen damn near perfectly working conditioned motor cycles around. There is a red rocket gas station in Lexington that has a motocycle that looks pretty good.

Yeah, sure power armor is more versatile and increases the power of the wearer while cars do not.

But honestly, some sort of riding vehicle or hell a ridable Yao-Gui.

I know the one you mean.

I agree that there would not be 200 years of people after the apocalypse just walking. I don't know- maybe riding domesticated animal/monsters, bicycles would be pretty damned easy to fix. I can understand maybe not boats because of all the radiation, but otherwise people would have vehicles of some kind. Shoot, even some of the robots have rolling tank treads and wheels. They could easily pull out their AI brains and install simple controls/chips to operate the treads, weld a couple together, make a vehicle out of them. they have to knock them out first if they're still working, but that's doable.

or you know, horses. horses could be a thing. mutated six legged ones? pack animals are already a thing. the first two Fallouts established ranching as a staple profession and had lots of caravan wagons made from old car parts.

I can imagine now some type of cobbled together vehicle. You take the top off that small 2 seater vehicle that is plentiful in the commonwealth. put the robot tank treads on it.... I mean, you may go alittle faster than walking? Atleast skyrim had horses.

Modders, do a rideable Rad Stag!

a Yai Guai that you have to keep placated with vodka. using a re-skinned fusion core ruleset.

I think it's feasible to see automobiles in future Fallout titles, but as it stands, it just isn't a priority for the development team. Also if they did make vehicles workable, it would throw of the spacing and pacing of the game. The game is made for walking through, not driving through. If you could drive, think of all the things you would skip just because you're too lazy to stop driving and get out of a car? The end result would be people missing all of the love and care Bethesda puts into crafting the game world. I agree with the lack of vehicles. It isn't necessary in the first place in my opinion.

EDIT: However, im not sure which older game it was, but I know an opening cinematic for one of them depicts some BoS guys on patrol in something close to a Humvee. Soooo working vehicles isn't outside of the realm of Fallout by any means.

Vertibirds.. enough said lol

maybe as a DLC specifically focusing on traveling vast expanses of desolated wilderness between hubs of activity? i still think most of the game maps for F3 and F4 are too cluttered for a wheeled vehicle to navigate. Something in the mid-west near those massive nuclear tornadoes we heard about way back in F2.

Between a walking tank that can stand up to a Deathclaw and a Moving car that could explode when the engine is ruptured. I think I'll that the walking tank.

Maybe the devs just don't want things to go too Mad Max.