Steam Powered 1963 Ford Falcon

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

4. You clearly don't understand steam car technology

First, there was the Stanley Motor Carriage Company, manufacturers of the "Stanley Steamer" that made steam-powered cars from 1902-1924. It failed because the cars were underpowered and overpriced, the Stanley brothers hadn't a clue about marketing, the steam plant did take about 15 minutes to get going from a cold start and the gasoline-powered internal combustion engine (with the electric starter) did become efficient. Finally, after the death of one of the Stanley brothers, the other one sold the company to a man who ran it into the ground.

There have been improvements since the 1920s. One of the major ones was the quick-starting steam engine (developed for steam ships, but easily adaptable for smaller steam engines) which reduced the starting time for the steam engine to a minute or two. So your "firing up the furnace every morning for 20 minutes before work" is no longer true.

The furnace to boil the water is an integral part of the engine (and always has been), so your "Is your employer going to grant you access to a furnace to boil your water?" is merely silly.

Does your car stop running after 5 miles on a very cold day? Well, neither will a steam powered car, unless you run out of fuel.

The main reason diesel-electric locomotives replaced steam engines was mainly due to lower costs, both initial cost of the locomotive and upkeep. It was not due to superior technology.