10. 蒸汽

    1899年到1905年间，斯坦利蒸汽汽车（见上图）在美国的销量超过了所有汽油车。蒸汽机从18世纪早期就开始开发了，与之相比，当时的汽油引擎还只能算是个婴儿。但当内燃机装上自动启动装置后它们就迅速迎头赶上了，而蒸汽机由于必须携带沉重的锅炉则注定了要被淘汰。不过，由于蒸汽汽车能用垃圾、木柴和原油当燃料，它们还是引起了人们的关注——1969年通用汽车就推出过两款试验车型——但它们效率较低，也十分沉重。2009年，一辆现代蒸汽汽车以130英里的时速打破了斯坦利蒸汽汽车1906年创造的速度记录，但它重达三吨多，内部的蒸汽管道足有两英里多长。（财富中文网）

    译者：清远

    10. Steam

    Between 1899 and 1905, the Stanley Steamer (above) outsold all gasoline-powered cars in the U.S. Steam engines had been in development since the early 18th century; gasoline was a baby by comparison. But internal combustion engines caught up quickly after they got self-starters, and steamers were doomed by having to carry around heavy boilers. Steam-powered vehicles still get attention because they can burn fuel like garbage, wood, and crude oil -- General Motors introduced two experimental ones in 1969 -- but they are relatively inefficient and very weighty. In 2009, a modern steam car broke the speed record set by a Stanley Steamer in 1906 when it exceeded 130 miles per hour, but it weighed more than three tons and contained more than two miles of steam tubing.