Like I say, that one was done with humour. Not in every episode, but in a lot of them. And there was a guy who would turn into an SUV and then play Tarzan.
Oh, there've been a couple animated series with that name, and one comic book series. Though the original Japanese name of the first RiD show was 'Car Robot', which fits better, because it was one where the bots didn't hide. It was also hilarious.