Different Strokes for Different Folks

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You could call gasoline the alternative fuel method if you are referring to this cousin to the locomotive. Steam stuck around with the automobiles well into the turn of the century with notable manufacturers such as Stanley Steamer and the Doble Steam Car company.

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Long before the Prius brought hybrid technology to the forefront in the late 90’s, we have been trying our hand at electric drive cars for well over a hundred years. Starting off as overpriced, inefficient and REALLY heavy passenger cars, they would submerge and resurface every few decades for a new manufacturer to take a stab at it. GM has a pretty long history of creating (and preventing) electric drive cars, all the way back to the Corvair.

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I mean, wouldn’t you want a jet engine in your car? Clearly from a time in automotive history where they were experimenting even with nuclear powered cars, the turbine engine wasn’t a complete failure. Rover took off with the idea and produced 4 cars with a turbine engine. Chrysler even produced a couple examples of a family sedan with a pretty refined setup. Leno has a great video covering the history of this bronze masterpiece.

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Known for his high-rpm and motorcycle like acceleration, the rotary engine has been with us consistently since the 1960’s. Mazda has really kept this alive with the RX series that we all know and love, as well as the lesser known Cosmo series exclusive to Japan. Citroen even had a couple examples, like Mazda though , they all suffer from issues with Apex Seals causing them to quite literally spin apart if the extensive maintenance is not kept up with.

Different Strokes for Different Folks

Steam

Electric

Turbine

Rotary

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