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Back in the 1980s, Mercedes sold its midsize E-class in both four-door and two-door form, the latter with either a fixed steel roof or a convertible cloth top. It wasn't a particularly sporty car, but it-like all 124-chassis Mercedes E-classes-was built like a nuclear bunker. And priced accordingly.

The Mercedes-Benz G-class - otherwise known as the Gelandewagen - celebrates its thirtieth birthday this year. There are plenty of contemporary models that are riding streaks longer than that, but none of them have done so in quite the same manner as the G-wagen. You see, this isn't just a thirty-year-old nameplate; it's a thirty-year-old vehicle. A heavily updated one, to be sure, but still the same box Mercedes rolled out when Jimmy Carter was president and Journey hit number sixteen on the Billboard charts with "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'." Not to belabor the point, but this rig hit the streets the same year that the Gairy dictatorship in Grenada was overthrown by the New Jewel Movement. Gosh, does that make me feel old.