Here is a unique collection, in text and illustration, of the steam cars of early America. From the first steam car constructed in 1787 by Oliver Evans steam cars immediately attracted attention by establishing world records for hill climbing and speed. These records publicized the world over created interest to inventors, engineers and industrialist in the development of the automotive industry. Today, in an era in which pollution has become a very real danger, there is a tremendous revival of interest in steam cars. Arguments both for and against the practicality of steam cars have been included in this volume so that the reader can draw his own conclusion as to the future possibilities of steam as a motive power for vehicles on the streets and highways of our country. A wave of nostalgia for scenes and objects from a quieter time in America's past has prompted us to reissue this interesting collection of material by Floyd Clymer, the greatest chronicler of automobile vehicles.
An ad from the 1950s for the book states that the book "lists and describes over 125 different makes of steam cars, including Doble, Stanley, White, Grout, Locomobile, Lane, Ross and dozens of others. Packard and Nash cars are shown as steam conversions. Other features include new and old style boilers, burners, care and operation of steam cars; late models Dobles illustrated with specifications; German steam trucks and buses powered by Doble units; in fact a complete history of steam cars, past and present. In addition to the early ads and photos, there is a story by Floyd Clymer that relates his early experiences with steam cars and something of the life of F. O. Stanley in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado when Stanley Steam Stages were the popular forerunner of the present day bus systems."
