Auto News 5

What do the Land Rover Defender and the Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen have in common? Answer: They date back to an era when passive safety and exhaust emissions were only vague terms instead of strict norms. Although various exemptions have helped to extend the life for these and other golden oldies, the grace period granted by the European Union ends for certain in 2015. Mercedes has no replacement in the pipeline for the G-class, but Land Rover is exploring ways to replace or overhaul the Defender in time for the 2016 model year -- and is even considering a departure from the traditional body-on-frame construction.

Months in Fleet: Four
Mileage to Date: 19,976

The Taliban had them surrounded. It was a clear, moonlit night on March 28 in Dangam district, in the Kunar River valley in eastern Afghanistan. The U.S. Army patrol, from Battle Company, Second Battalion, 503rd Infantry, was caught on a narrow road between two mountain peaks teeming with Taliban fighters. "They hit us from both sides," First Lieutenant Cris Gasperini, the patrol leader, would recall a few days after the battle.

Once upon a time, before globalism became a favorite buzzword, cars really said something about the countries that produced them. The frugality and reliability of a Honda subcompact spoke to the ingenuity and determination of post-war Japan. The power and size of a tail-finned Cadillac convertible embodied American swagger. And so on. The automobile used to be as much an expression of culture as a country's art or food.