+"I rode with Bob"

That sentence works, but it doesn't tell you anything about the car.

Ooo! Good one.

Personally, I'd say "I'm getting on an elevator" and "I'm currently in an elevator."

it's interesting to note that while automobile, vehicle, and car each are used in the US to designate (for most intents and purposes) the same means of conveyance, their use is not exactly interchangeable.

Car is very much the casual, standard term ("I bought a car").
Automobile is a more esoteric descriptor hearkening back to the roots of the era (The Automobile Industry, Automobile Insurance company).
Vehicle is used often in 'precision language' (official descriptions of incidents, or directions given by authority figures).

Auto is also used regularly, but typically as an adjective- a shortening of Automobile (Auto Parts, Auto Service)

/observations of a layman

Vehicles mean more than just 'cars' though.

A typical unmanned drone shouldn't be referred to as vehicle since it's not transporting a payload.

My definition of payload is something that the vehicle is a carrying, that is not part of the vehicle itself. In other words, something being transported which is placed onto/into and then offloaded at some point. A navigational component is an inherent part of the vehicle itself. But a person, missile or bomb are not, so a drone so-equipped with releasable weapons could be called a vehicle by definition.