Interesting.

The most rugged, non-ruggedized, camera I've used is the P&S 8MP C-8080. It's built like a tank and for non-sports shots it shoots as good as my D300 for landscapes and architecture, and is a decent street photography camera. (At least when used by me, which speaks to my lack of ability, not the D300's.) It too has a great piece of glass.

It went for $1200 when released in 2004 and renewed my interest in photography. It had limited zoom, but is still the standard for ease-of-use by which I measure DLSR's.

EBay often has them in the $250 neighborhood.

Flickr C-8080 search results here.