1977-2007 Anniversary Best 4x4s Of All Time

The old-school preferences get stronger. I'm guessing this section will inspire the most hate mail, as there are some very strong contenders who didn't make it into the top three.

Freiburger chose the "old, platform-fendered, unmistakable intimidation of the Dodge Power Wagon" as his "just plain cool" pick for the July '97 article. "Used Power Wagons almost always have the right look about them: the patina of acceptable weathering, the right-colored paint worn off in all the right places, and just the right amount of grease caked onto just a few backyard modifications."	Freiburger picked Toyota's venerable FJ-40 Land Cruiser as a top rockcrawler in July '97 because he believed "it's the trail 4x4 that needs the least amount of beefing in order to take an incredible amount of abuse and be reasonably capable." Pw encapsulated the Cruiser's toughness by calling it the one vehicle he would drive "from L.A. to New York after a nuclear war."
Pw believes the Scout has "the heart and soul of a Jeep without the hype, and proven time-honored components that are reliable to this day. While heavy (never lift the hardtop or doors off by yourself), the Scout II was ahead of its time, and makes for some great wheeling machinery today."

* '46-'68 Dodge Power Wagon (July '97, Aug. '06, Sept. '06)
* '04-and-up Dodge Power Wagon (June '06, Aug. '06, Sept. '06)
* '70-'80 International Scout II (July '97, June '06, Sept. '06)
* '67-'69 Kaiser/Jeep M-715 (July '97, June '01, Aug. '06)
* '85-'95 Suzuki Samurai (July '97, June '06, Sept. '06)
* '63-'83 Toyota FJ-40 Land Cruiser (July '97, June '01, Sept. '06)

Each of the four staffs that voted for the early Bronco (Oct. '84, Dec. '92, July '97, June '01) mentioned different model years; but as a whole, the votes pretty much included the first Bronc's entire '66-'77 production run. "The '74 Ford Bronco was the best production 4x4 ever made, and if you think otherwise, you and that other horse you rode in on can get out of town!" wrote Stuart Bourdon in Dec. '92.

Said David Kennedy in June '01, "We'd take any of the '66-'77 Broncos, but we'd want the Dana 44 up front with disc brakes and the crossover steering that the later-model trucks came with. We can leave the hardtop at home and hit the trails just like our Jeep buddies-except we don't have to swap out the entire drivetrain to play in the rough stuff." While digging through the photo archives we found this publicity shot of a '77 Bronco modified to chase a transcontinental hot air balloon trip. Bill Stroppe, father of the Baja Bronco and Parnelli Jones' codriver in many Baja races, helped prep the truck.

The TJ version of the Jeep Wrangler landed on every "best" article since its introduction (July '97, June '01, June '06, Aug. '06, Sept. '06). The '97 and '01 stories mentioned TJ in general, while later stories singled out the Rubicon as the pinnacle of the line. Pw probably summed it up best in September 2006: "Out-of-the-box best 4x4 yet produced by any company,period."

"There is no way anyone can deny that [the Wrangler Rubicon] is a crowning achievement in automotive 4x4 vehicles. It sports real tires, selectable lockers, a 4:1 transfer case, a torquey inline 6, a real six-speed tranny, and an auto available for you wimps, and still a convertible-the true 4x4," wrote Pw. Said then-staffer Christian Hazel in June '01, "It sucks that weenies can go buy these, throw on a lift and tires, and totally spank most trail rigs, but that's the case." Digging through Jeep's photo archives we came across this special "x-ray" view of the '97 Wrangler.

Some called out specific versions-MB, '45-'49 CJ-2A, GPW-while other votes were more generic-pre-'53 Willys, or "any real flatfender"-but the vote was clear: The rugged little WWII-era Willys Jeep and its postwar brothers were the all-time favorites of staffers from every decade (Oct. '84, Dec. '92, July '97, June '01, Aug. '06, Sept. '06).

"This is really it," said Coates in '84. "Without the CJ-2A, who knows how long it would have taken some entrepreneur to develop a 4x4." Current Art Director Huber, in his "Best 4x4s Ever (for Old Guys)" story in Aug. '06, said, "Even though an MB or GPW (or any flatfender) is too small for my family, the original little off-roaders, which proved so much during WWII (especially to our enemies), are just too cool to pass up." Pw, our Jeepmeister, said in Sept. '06: "A Flatfender is to wheeling what dirt is to a potato. You really can't have one without the other."