Early lunar rover prototypes were tested in northern Arizona with Astrogeology, and many were built by USGS Astrogeologists

It had long been decided that the astronauts on the Moon would be equipped with a vehicle that would enable them to explore farther than the few feet that would be reachable in their cumbersome space suites, so NASA called for examples of suitable vehicles. Here is one example, which was produced by a contractor; it turned out to be unsuitable and cost \$28 million so it was not the selected design.