Some older stuff, while yes, designed to used "in a car", was not designed to used on top of a mountain where there are no cars - possible use #1 - I'm assuming you've heard of SOTA operation?
Other stuff is designed to be battery powered, but falls miserably short with just a small drop in battery voltage - possible use #2.
#3 - why do I need a reason, other than just out of curiosity?
There are several circuits for DIY jobs in QST/QEX/CQ magazines etc and I was curious as to whether there were any cheap modules around already built.