Jeep CJ CJ7

The CJ-7 is the Jeep your brain draws when someone says the word, and it's one of the few Jeeps self-respecting enough to reject any bizarre rubber ducks from occupying its dash.

Introduced in 1976, it was roomy enough for a proper hardtop and an automatic transmission, which is how Jeep sold a lot of people on open-air 4x4 life. It also debuted Quadra-Trac, an early full-time four-wheel-drive system that made the CJ far more usable for everyday drivers.

Under the hood you could get the workhorse inline-sixes or, for the full period-correct experience, the optional AMC 304 V8, which turned the little Jeep into a rowdy, short-wheelbase hooligan. Dress-up trims like the Renegade and the Levi's-trimmed Laredo gave it stripes, flares, and enough seventies attitude to fill a drive-in lot.

It's the machine that ended the thirty-year CJ dynasty and handed the baton directly to the Wrangler in 1986. Values for honest, rust-free CJ-7s have climbed steadily, and it remains the definitive vintage Jeep silhouette, the shape every square-headlight and round-headlight Wrangler since has been chasing.