GTA Wiki:Manual of Style/Vehicles

In order to keep our wiki providing the best information vehicles to the public there are set guidelines that should be used in order to create high-quality articles that ensure the best information and a convenient reading experience for readers. Standard rules such as "neutral point of view" and third-person perspective apply for editing for vehicle articles.

Format
The standard format that shall be used for all new vehicle articles created after 01 Jun 2015 is as follows. Under Heading 2 (heading 3 for insets), the following sections must be created in this order;


 * (No headings required for opening section). Necessary maintenance templates such as upcoming, stub or cleanup along with the vehicles infobox Infobox vehicles containing a front quarter image (of the most up-to-date version of the vehicle where available) and a rear quarter image linked. Beside the infobox should be a single sentence introducing the vehicle; its full name (Note: the manufacturer name should be kept separate for vehicles that have appeared in games that did not have manufacturer designations), body style and the title(s) that it appears in.
 * quotes from the in-game online dealership(s) that sell or promotes the vehicle.
 * Design
 * Current Design Gallery (Only for vehicles whose the latest appearance is in HD Universe) - Users must be aware of the special Manual of Style when adding images to this gallery.
 * Version History Gallery with all prior game version images.
 * Performance
 * Overview - Users must be aware of the special Manual of Style when adding observed performance statistics to this section.
 * Modifications (GTA SA and/or GTAV customs shop table of modifications)
 * Image gallery
 * Variants

Repeat the above for multi-generation vehicles appearing in the same game or where a variant alters any of the above significantly enough to warrant it.
 * Notable owners (if any)
 * Locations (with game appearance sub-headings)
 * Rewards (with game appearance sub-headings)
 * Trivia (with a "general" and game appearance sub-headings)
 * See Also (similar or related vehicles)
 * References (if any)
 * Navigation

Content
Each of these sections requires content, whilst maintaining neutrality and third-person perspective;
 * 1) Design sections should include, at the beginning a short paragraph outlining the vehicle's real life inspiration(s). An individual paragraph for design of the front, side (including roof) and rear of the vehicle. Making a total of four paragraphs. Additional separate paragraphs can be included if the vehicle's design is taken from an already-existing vehicle (i.e. the Technical and the Insurgent Pick-Up).
 * 2) Design Gallery should include images of the vehicle in stock condition. Each exterior image should be a quarter view. An interior shot and engine shot along with images of 1st person LoD of the interior, badging detail and extracted badging/texture images from the game files, front, side, back, top and bottom "elevation" views making a total of no more than 12 (more if a roadster version exists) images in the gallery. Each image must adhere to the media policy and not include watermarks or markings. See here for the official Manual of Style on Design Gallery images.
 * 3) Version History Gallery should include images of the vehicle in stock condition from each prior game appearance. Each exterior image should be a quarter view. Gallery may be presented as a slideshow.
 * 4) Performance sections should include a headed overview, to give readers quick access to statistics about the vehicle. Prior to the overview, the section should include a neutral, objective review paragraph referring to how the vehicle handles, its speed/ acceleration and construction, damage and deformation characteristics, in the context(s) that are relevant to the vehicle. Subjective opinion should be avoided. See here for the Official rules of Speed Testing on the GTA Wiki for Performance Overview tables.
 * 5) Modifications (divided into the corresponding games this feature is added) should include a table with the categories, items and prices, as well as its availability (only available for Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online). Additional info should be included in the section if there are conditions of the modifications.
 * 6) Main Gallery should include any general images relating to the vehicle, anything other than stock in game appearance, including variants, special (e.g. unique NPC owned examples), spawn locations, liveries, video trailer and promotional screenshots, in-game billboards and advertising, and naturally spawned modified versions etc). Standard layout should be three images per row.
 * 7) Variants are versions of the vehicle that appear with a distinctive name and/or based on the same model. Variants should use the corresponding templates (,  or  ), summarizing the appearances, name, page, front and rear quarter images, caption and short paragraph explaining the differences with the base model. Preferably, links for the car's name should be avoided in the text, as adding the corresponding text on the article link field of the template in source editor automatically generates a link in the page, making the basic links to the car unneeded).
 * 8) Special Variants are commonly occurring versions of the vehicle that appear without player intervention; vehicles that are driven by other characters or appear exclusively in missions. Images for these variants should be included in the variants section. In the case that many permutations (x > 5) can be obtained from one mission or activity, only one example should be given.
 * 9) Locations (divided into each game appearance) are in bullet-point format, including areas where the vehicle is driven by other characters and parked locations.
 * 10) Rewards (divided into each game appearance) are in bullet-point format, indicating where the vehicle can be taken for in-game rewards (i.e. Money).
 * 11) Trivia sections (divided into each game appearance) are in bullet-point format and shall include radio information, errors or unique features that the vehicle may have. Cultural reference sections will be used if the vehicle has any connection to media, language or culture in any way.
 * 12) Navigation sections should include the relevant navboxes, but should only be added after text has been added to all of the lead infobox categories, (so that editors can easily add new categories to the lead infobox without wrecking it; the navboxes disable the visual editor).

Tips and advice
English varies between regions, as Grand Theft Auto is developed in Scotland, its origin it therefore European, however, Grand Theft Auto is a globally-sold product. For vehicle articles, to avoid disputes and edit-wars regarding terms used, a simple solution is this; regional terms that have different words altogether (e.g. bonnet/ hood) should be written as they are in the bracket, however for words that are one letter different (e.g. tyre/ tire), the spelling shall be determined based on the origin of the vehicle. Vehicles that hail from NA will use NA region spellings and EU, AU and JP vehicles will have respective English spellings for such words.

Using regional spellings that are reflective of the vehicle's origin means that no readers are alienated and can still feel that their regions vehicles are being described in a natural manner. Using both region's words displays to readers that we are trying to cater to everyone.

When providing content for design and performance sections, any technical language should be linked to a Wikipedia page (e.g. referring to carbon fiber as CFRP) so that readers have quick access to the meaning of any technical language or can gain better understanding if need be.

If there are any issues then the talk pages are always the first place to head to.

The vehicle article should be named after its first appearance's name e.g. "Barracks OL", and the display title should be after its latest appearance, e.g. "Barracks", using.

What to avoid

 * 1) Opinions and biased information.
 * 2) Speculation will be met with very low tolerance and will most likely be removed.
 * 3) Adding user-modified vehicles, unless they are used in the "Modifications" sections for GTA San Andreas and GTA V, under strict comparison/exemplification purposes. Only one image is allowed at a time (at each subsection).
 * 4) Adding images alongside text in loose form. Images should only be in the lead infobox or one of the organised galleries, unless they are Rockstar Social Club performance stats images or user-modified vehicles under the circumstances of #3.
 * 5) "The sky is blue" trivia points; we would like to avoid the possibility of patronizing our readers.

Template
A blank template that contains the necessary formatting can be found here.

Notice
This manual of style is subject to change at any time (from admin or community-based decision), however, new rules will not come into effect until the first day of the following month.


 * Last updated by Monkeypolice188 on 18th December 2018.