1.   But for the fans of Stanley steam cars, the most important event of this summer is an auction.

2.   Is there really a future for steam cars?

3.   Maybe it just points up the great vacuum of knowledge that attends steam cars in particular and old cars in general.

4.   Most steam cars used a double-acting piston with steam working alternately one side, then the other.

5.   Steam cars, particularly the Stanleys that left competitors in the dust in the early speed trials, were ostracized early on.

6.   The artifact being preserved in this case is the steam automotive technology rather than the steam car itself.

7.   The Stanley Museum preserves steam technology and has a couple of its own steam cars that run regularly.

8.   Early on, the steam car was hampered by the timing of crucial engineering developments.

9.   That would just about make it impossible to park a steam car overnight on an icy street.

10.   The steam car demands only water and just about any liquid fuel, even kerosene.