Deep Space 9
Actually, the term "Warp Field Generator" has been used many times. Since
the effect of the Warp Field Generator is to move the ship to someplace it
wasn't (it still moves, it simply doesn't move faster than light) at a
very fast pace, I imagine it was referred to as a Warp Drive, and the name
stuck. Very few people refer to things by their full technical-description
name.
The stars don't move very fast at sub-light speeds, but usually the
Enterprise is shown turning as it enters Warp, which increases the
apparent motion, as the camera moves with it. They go by pretty fast in
Warp, but they are going a much shorter DISTANCE, so they don't have to be
going as fast. If the distance between Earth and Alpha Centauri is reduced
to, say, 50 feet (relative), due to the warping of space, you don't have
to go very fast to pass it rather quickly. By the way, one rule that has
been "bent" a bit too often is that going into Warp near a large mass
(like a planet) is VERY dangerous. In Star Trek IV, Kirk orders Sulu to go
to Warp One in ATMOSPHERE, a VERY, VERY bad thing to do (the warp field
would rip some of the atmosphere off). However, most of us assume that
Sulu, correctly, used Impulse Power, rather than damaging the Earth,
figuring Kirk was over-excited, and we just didn't get to see the scene
where they discuss it later. (See how creative fans are?)
Oh, and you are right about the FX people pulling a fast one. Notice that
when the ship zooms by, there is a "woosh" sound. Always has been, always
will be. They are quite aware that there is no sound in space, and the Big
E wouldn't "woosh". However, having it totally silent actually distracted
the viewers and took their minds off the story. Television is a dramatic
medium, and if things get in the way of the drama, they must be
sacrificed. It uses "Suspension of disbelief" to accomplish it's goals.
You, obviously, choose not to participate in that suspension. Your right,
of course. Trek generally has fewer holes than most of the things on the
<continued>