Why not just lua up a null drop create to the edv armored car?

How do you handle the vehicle being picked up by a dropship?

My reason for not doing this is simple. Craft exits don't flip in the x-direction, meaning it must face upwards. And I just didn't like the look of that. But now that I think about it the solution is obviously to rotate the crate 180 degrees when the vehicle flip.

Good point, I had not thought of this problem. On the other hand it looks kind of silly when a whole tank is sucked in to the side of a rocket so maybe this is a blessing in disguise. By ditching the ACrab and making the actual vehicle a craft with a Lua turret it will be able to carry troops, and impossible to pick up. Not sure if auto scuttle will be a problem. The problem with the exit remain though.

A non-craft pickup version is somewhat less difficult, yes.
Auto-scuttle shouldn't be too much of a problem, as it's in constant movement anyway and you can reset the rotation if the need arises.