So I like to rant when I see things that are boring (see blog entry below).

But to be fair, Collectible Automobile does a great job with its photography. Get an eyeful of owner Tanya Johnson's '55 DeSoto Firedome Convertible Coupe in the December 2007 issue. It's a stunning ride.

Patrick Foster tells the story of the Rambler American, an automotive Lazarus, in the December 2007 issue of Collectible Automobile.

Beautiful pictures. Ably-told.

My problem with Collectible Automobile is that a lot of its articles read like book reports. I used to fume about Foster's ho-hum, facts-and-figures-style writing, but I really think the fault lies with the stodgy editorial approach at CA.

When I read the article, I'm overwhelmed with straight-ahead narrative about body styles, model year changes, and production figures. There are too few stories about Roy Chapin, Jr., and George Romney.

I wish CA could figure out how to tell more compelling narratives. I would like to see more pop culture references and more interesting layouts.

Right now CA is elegant and traditional. And, unfortunately, boring. You cook a good steak, Editor Biel. I just wish it sizzled a little more.

Check out the 1966 AMC Rambler 770 hardtop fire chief's car in the November 2007 Hemmings Classic Car.

I'm always amazed that anything like this at all is still around. It's kinda like the 1940 Plymouth squad car I mentioned on September 26th.

Daniel Strohl does a nice job bossing around a beautiful vintage Stutz Series H in the November 2007 issue of Hemmings Classic Car.

I love stories like these that bring to life just how much harder it was to drive Brass Era cars.

Wanna see a true weirdo, oddball, head-scratchin' orphan?

Try Mark Zalutko's Thrif-T. It's so obscure that Zalutko doesn't even know exactly what year it was made. Somewhere between 1948 and 1955.

It's in the October 2007 Hemmings Motor News.

Me likey.

Dang! Who'da thunk that Packard Caribbean prices would be shooting out of sight?

That's what Hemmings Motor News is claiming in their October 2007 issue.

I guess I'll just have to drive my Metropolitan downtown and gaze at the Caribbean land yachts moored at the Citizens Motorcar Company here in Dayton.

Look for Perry Cuniberti's beautiful Maxi Blue '73 Javelin AMX in the October 2007 issue of Muscle Car Review.

When I was a kid, I thought these cars were extremely ugly, but I've done a 180 in my thinking over the years. Although I still prefer the '68-'70 Javelins, these AMC beasts can still park in the same lot right next to the Challengers, Mustangs, and Olds 4-4-2's without any shame whatsoever.

Jim Hinkley muses on one of the most independent orphans of all: Checker.

Look for his Independent Thinker column in the October 2007 Cars & Parts.

I love the 1916 Detroit Electric in the October 2007 issue of Cars & Parts.

I never thought about it much, but the early electric cars really provided an easy-to-use alternative to the internal combustion engine. They were easier to start and drive. They were great cars for urban women.

You can also see Jack Beatty's Detroit Electric in this article online.

There's a vintage 1940 Plymouth P10 Deluxe police car in the October 2007 issue of Cars & Parts.

Cool car, but I doubt you'll be seeing it sitting in a Selma, California, speed trap.

Great article.

You want more to do at the Torq-O site than click and read text?

Me too! So I created a Podcast page that lets you listen to all of the mini-broadcasts I'm creating.

If you don't know what a podcast is, ask your grandkids. Trust me. They have more podcasts on their iPods than you have loose parts from that last engine you rebuilt.

For those in the know, our first podcast is an interview with former AMC designer Vince Geraci. American Motors fans: you'll love this exclusive interview plus the vintage AMC commercial.

Warning: this MP3 file is 11.2mb. For those of you with a dial-up connection, don't bother. You could put that topcoat on the Gremlin faster than your computer will download the podcast.

For those of you with broadband, get ready to enjoy a new way for Torq-O to keep you informed and entertained about the world of orphan cars!

Best of all, it's FREE! So download, and enjoy!

I found some video on MSN of the Ab Jenkins Mormon Meteor winning the Pebble Beach Concours this year. (Check out this link before it disappears off of MSN's site.) You'll need Windows Media Player to watch it.

A beautiful, one-of-a-kind Duesenberg.

While Hemmings Classic Car has Patrick Foster, Cars and Parts Magazine has begun a new column on independent and orphan car companies. The column is called The Independent Thinker, and it starts in the September 2007 issue.

There's a nice article in the September 2007 issue of Cars & Parts Magazine about the 1912 Chalmers "36".

Torq-O is based in Dayton, Ohio. I didn't know that Hugh Chalmers, the founder of the company, was born and raised here. And like so many managers of other famous 20th century companies, he was a successful, high-level executive at NCR before he was canned and forced to start over.

Well, here's another depressing list of automotive duds.

Time Magazine pushes this lemon of a slide show out of the garage and hopes you don't realize that it's the same snarky type of "Worst Of" list that BusinesWeek just slapped together. (Together, they're kind of like the Plymouth Volare/Dodge Aspen combo of insult journalism.)

I actually enjoyed Los Angeles Times columnist Dan Neil's text. Some of the cars on the list really deserve their bug-meets-windshield fate, and Neil hilariously runs them through the crusher.

But other entries are questionable. The inclusion of the '49 Crosley Hot Shot and the '57 King Midget make Neil look desperate to score snarkier-than-thou points. Those cars served niche customers well, and the King Midget managed to sell for decades.

While the writing was good, the list trotted out so many rusty clichés, you might need a tetanus booster shot after reading it. Get ready for more predictable yuks about the Pacer, Gremlin, and Yugo.

The worst part is, Neil seems to really hate cars. He blames the Model T for the popularity of the automobile in general. He includes SUVs on the list while completely omitting the chrome-dripping barges of the 1950s. Keep your darts aimed at the cars, Dan. The clumsy attempt at sarcasm about social trends is as attractive as and well-constructed as the 1911 Overland OctoAuto.

BusinessWeek has posted a supposedly funny slide show called The World's Ugliest Cars.

Predictably, it features AMC's Pacer, Gremlin and Matador. It rehashes lots of the same old tired, snarky comments about AMC's automotive icons of the 1970's.

Curiously, the authors crack wise about the Matador's design, but they show a Matador station wagon. These wagons were perfectly respectable in the eyes of most consumers and casual observers.

Note to BusinessWeek: if you're gonna attempt witty sarcasm, you should at least know enough to choose the right target. Most car fans consider the 1974-78 Matador coupe to be cosmetically challenged. Maybe your interns could locate a photo of that particular model.

Until then, why not talk about some of the other models that bring lunch to the throat? Cars like the Ford Fairmont or the Plymouth Reliant? Stick to business, BusinessWeek. And leave the pop culture sarcasm to E! and VH1.