1930 Doble Coupe
The Steam Automobile
The last production steam automobile was the Doble. That was back in the 1920s. The car was so advanced, it could easily give any production car on the road today a run for its money.
In fact, rather than spending all of the money that’s being spent on electric cars, all a car maker would have to do is put the Doble back in production.
For fuel, the car could use grain or wood alcohol, biodiesel, bio-generated methane, or any other renewable fuel.
Performance and range would be equal to any car on the road today, and would be superior to an electric car. And that’s with 1920s tech. Update the tech to 21st-century standards — and we’d have a superior automobile.
Here is a video from Jay Leno’s Garage, where he discusses his 1925 Doble:
Steam is the old tech that is still new.
That is why Bill Arthur, in my post-apocalyptic The Rocheport Saga, makes the big push to produce steam cars by converting diesel engines to run on steam.
Converting to Steam
How would that work you may be asking. Fairly easily. Although not without problems.
Here is a discussion on a steam auto forum which outlines the how and the problems to overcome: https://steamautomobile.com:8443/ForuM/read.php?1,4664
And here’s a patent description for converting diesel engines to run on steam: https://patents.google.com/patent/EP2538019A2
The following article and video shows how to convert a two-cycle engine to steam: https://hackaday.com/2012/10/04/how-to-convert-an-internal-combustion-engine-to-run-from-steam-power/
This video talks about the 1969 Chevelle that GM had converted to steam:
And this video series shows how to convert a 4-stroke engine to steam:
In the early 1980s, I collected piles of info on steamers. Unfortunately, I no longer have that data. One article that impressed me, however, was of a father and son who converted a diesel engine Volkswagen rabbit to steam, drove it to Detroit, and ran it through EPA testing. The steam car’s exhaust was cleaner than the air in the building.
The steamer in the post-apocalyptic era will be a much more practical option for travel than the horse. Unlike the hayburner, the steam car is an omnivore — it can use anything that burns for fuel. The PA steamer can be set up to use liquid or solid fuel or both.
And the great advantage of the steam car is that we know how to drive cars. We don’t know how to ride horses.
An equestrian I’d talked to, who’s been riding for 9 years, and doesn’t consider herself anywhere near expert, thought it highly unlikely untrained people would be riding horses shortly after an apocalyptic event.
When I read PA fiction, I find most authors have not done a very good job on their worldbuilding. They haven’t taken the time to completely think out the consequences of the collapse of technology, supply chains, and society. Or what it would take to rebuild in order to get to where we are today. A case in point being the classic Earth Abides, where the main character drives all over the country and has no problem finding fuel, or with fuel quality.
The PA writer needs to seriously consider how people will react to having no electricity, gas, or cell phones. What happens when the batteries are gone? And the gasoline? How will the lack of light at night affect us? Have you ever been in the country with no light other than the stars and moon? It is almost like being in a cave, unless a full moon is out. And what about failing infrastructure, like roads?
Will we really trust our neighbors? Or will it be everyone for himself, or herself? Especially when it comes to who gets the last can of soup on the grocery store shelf. And no law enforcement’s around.
And will we really be using horses? Do we even know where to find one? Will any be alive with no one around to feed them? After all, there are virtually no wild horses left. Horses are a domesticated animal.
Steam-powered cars are better than battery-powered electric cars, because they are not reliant on the power grid and don’t suffer from the problems inherent with batteries.
Steam cars have all the power and convenience of the gasoline-powered car — and they don’t need to burn fossil fuel. Plus, the technology has already been developed and is ready to use.
In a PA world where one has no power grid and no petroleum production facilities, cars are still the vehicle of choice and are possible because they can be made to run on steam with bio-fuel.
The steam car. It’s what we’ll be driving in a post-apocalyptic world. And what we should be driving today.
Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy reading!
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CW Hawes is a playwright, award-winning poet, and a fictioneer; as well as an armchair philosopher, political theorist, and social commentator. He loves a good cup of tea, and agrees that everything is better with pizza.
