Basically, it's the use of heavy metal machinery in rudimentary fashion (be it machine guns, hot rods, beefy fast motorcycles, etc) in juxtaposition of newfangled hardware like advanced fuel systems, navigating systems, scanning systems, weapon systems, auto-drive, etc.
Though that doesn't stop them designing things differently.
In fact, when it comes to vehicles in the game's setting, there would be 3 distinct styles of vehicles.
1) Your bog standard plebian cars. No frills, "Basic" technology and relatively mundane designs.
2) Nomad vehicles, which are scrappier and more "Mad Max"-esk as they're thrown together from whatever they can scrounge up. If they have tech, it will be outdated stuff that was discarded or newer stuff that was taken from others.
3) Expensive vehicles, these would be your most high-tech and futuristic machines. Including your hover vehicles and AV's. The stuff that only the extremely wealthy like high ranking Corpos can afford. The sorts of things they would put into advertisements to entice regular folk to dream about.
Meaning that you'd still have your low-tech rudimentary options, the stuff that your average citizen will have and whatever Nomads have cobbled together. But you'd have the juxtaposition of also having the super amazing high-tech stuff that shows the disparity between what is capable and what is affordable (As well as further highlighting the gap between Corpo rats and the masses under their boot)
As an example, I recall Mr.Pondsmith objecting to the gun fire noise sounding like laser ray zappers. He wanted them to sound like beefy old fashioned, well oiled loud machine guns.
To be honest, that only makes sense.
Nothing about the technology of the universe has altered the way that munitions function. It's all still based on powder based accelerants used to propel projectiles at speed.
Even with the "Tech" weapons using railgun technology, it's still something that is in addition to the regular bullet mechanisms not a replacement (With CP2077 having it as merely a muzzle attachment to impart additional speed to bullets leaving the gun).
This is also congruent with cyberware technology too. Even things like Projectile Launch System still uses rocket propelled grenades.
There's no reason for guns to start sounding like ray guns. As they have not actually advanced to laser (Or plasma) based weaponry.
This is unlike vehicles, where there does exist technology that would alter them. Such as the whole schtick of using personal jacks to interact with technology (Including other people given the intro and how V plugs into Sandra to diagnose her - Causing the bug that makes V need to go see Viktor at the start of the game).
To say nothing about other enhancements certain vehicles could utilize, like cloaking technology (Optical Camo cyberware), additional protection (All the high-armour cyberware and also Gorilla Arms are very durable but also light enough to be usable by people), pneumatics (Fortified Ankles and Reinforced Tendons both provide high power and low weight pneumatics to provide humans with extra jump capabilities), heck you can even make an argument to replace windows with screens linked to optics (With eye cyberware being a direct upgrade to natural human vision).
Also, whole hosts of vehicle mounted weaponry that could be utilized - Especially Smart weaponry (Which would be infinitely more usable than the current stupid static machine guns... Not like rotating guns can't exist either, given that there quite literally exists automated turrets in the game).
Which is the main greivance here. There's literally no reason given as to why vehicles are so outdated. Even if the universes' technology has been focused heavily on bio-engineering (Hence most cyberware interacting with existing chemical producing parts of the body), we're constantly being shown how this has bled through into other areas of technology. Such as with personal jacks, communication systems, monetary management, heck even doors have become all sci-fi and wooshy (Yes, even in the seediest of motels).
Outside the switch from petroleum based fuel to CHOOH2 (Which seemingly has had no impact on performance or design. Besides the tendency for flames to errupt from exhausts). Nothing has bled into vehicle technology at all, which is very odd.
Like, it's not that it needs to completely redesign how cars function. We don't need to shove in turbine engines, or replace wheels with balls (A la "I-Robot") or make vehicles into those stupid monowheels that are for some reason popular in sci-fi (Also Borderlands 3 for some reason)
Just... Integrate the technology that has bled into all of the universe, into vehicles too.
