The original Kamen Riders didn't have multiple forms, gimmicks, and were all cyborgs or had cybernetic enhancements. Amazon was the first Rider to be a biological mutation instead of a cyborg. If I recall correctly, Kuuga was the first Rider to have multiple forms. People hardly ever mentioned the bike usage problem before. Now that Drive is only using a car everyone is hopping onto the bashing bandwagon.
Drive has a helmet, he transforms with a belt, he fights monsters that share similar origins to his powers, he has the same eye shape as most Riders, he shares an aesthetic similar to most Riders, etc. He is a Kamen Rider not a Metal Hero. I wish people would shut up about this stuff because you all sound like asinine idiots - not personally attacking you, Kam - who spout out the same "no bike lol Kamen DRIVER not RIDER" line over and over again. It isn't like cars are going to become the staple vehicle of the franchise now! You can live without the titular hero not having a motorcycle for one year!
Yes, I'm not stupid, I know that it's Chase in that image. I'm just pointing out that it isn't like bikes are completely removed from the franchise.
Cyborgs, single forms, etc. are nowhere in the name ''Kamen Rider''.
But a bike, or at least a horse or something that one
rides is in it.
That's why I go for changing the name to ''Kamen Driver''. Before Diend got a bike in that brief scene of Let's Go Kamen Rider (which is a blink-and-miss, and that's putting it kindly) I used to suggest he's a Kamen Walker/Runner.
AFAIK, you don't
ride a car. So, this guy is not a Kamen
Rider. He certainly is masked, though. (Or ''helmeted'' if you will, but I'm only talking about the second word of the name here).
I remember a discussion a long time ago in which someone said the true name of a Kamen Rider should be ''Helmet Driver''. While you do drive a bike, it's also correct to say you ride it. Can't argue with the Helmet part, though. It's still correct to say it's a mask, though it has a more metaphorical meaning in this case. But, anyway, I'm straying from the topic here.
TL;DR Drive doesn't
ride his vehicle, therefore he is not a
Rider.