car propulsion methods are compared in this months Automobile magazine, May 2013 issue

in 1900 there were 4192 motor vehicles registered in the US

1681 were Steam powered, 1575 by electricity, 936 Gasoline engines

1905, there were 78,000 registered motor vehicles.

Steam and Electric had double in number, but that means only about 3200 were steam and electric, and 75,000 were gasoline powered

1912, the electric started is developed by Charles Kettering

The starter made the gas engine far simpler to use for a lot more people, and this sounded the end of the difficult to recharge Electric, and the slow to heat up Steam

1915 was about the end of the electric, and 1920 the end of most steam.

1925, Stanley is done

1931, Doble (best steam engine made at the time) is done http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/07/among-few-steam-powered-cars-doble.html

1941, Detroit Electric is through

http://www.automobilemag.com/

the Voisin http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2012/07/unique-look-at-automotive-design-french.html is the one from the Mullin Museum in Ventura, and is in the article because of the gas engine with the sliding cylinder sleeves. The big car is a White, and like the right side car, the Chrysler Turbine http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2012/05/bit-of-this-and-that-in-display-case-at.html, are both owned by Jay Leno. neither the White, the Turbone, nor the Voisin are really in the article, but they make for a hell of a cool photo, and they didn't have an electric car to use. A proper selection would have been a Doble, either a Baker electric or Detroit Electric, and a gas engined car of the same era

Among the few steam powered cars, the Doble evolved the quickest to minimize the delay of heating, and was mobile in 40 seconds

Stanley may be the most recognized name, for a couple reasons like the free publicity Stanley get from the carpet cleaner company, Jay Leno's occasional talks, and the land speed record a Stanley set for steam powered cars that stood for 103 years

But others like Doble did a good business, Locomobile was seen frequently in early movies, one presidential limo was a White steam car http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2007/06/presidential-limo-circa-1909.html , Toledo made a name for themselves during endurance races against gas powered cars, and other small companies like the Leyland in the last photo were using steam engines for some reason or another, perhaps lack of gasoline in areas

In 1906 the Land Speed Record was broken by a Stanley steam car, piloted by Fred Marriot, which achieved 127 mph (203 km/h) at Ormond Beach, Florida. This annual week-long "Speed Week" was the forerunner of today's Daytona 500. This record was not exceeded by any land vehicle until 1910, and stood as the steam-powered world speed record till 25 August 2009.

Stanley steam car (1912)
Attempts were made to bring more advanced steam cars on the market, the most remarkable being the Doble Steam Car which shortened start-up time very noticeably by incorporating a highly efficient monotube steam generator to heat a much smaller quantity of water along with effective automation of burner and water feed control. By 1923, Doble's steam cars could be started from cold with the turn of a key and driven off in 40 seconds or less

Abner Doble developed the Doble Ultimax engine for the Paxton Phoenix steam car, built by the Paxton Engineering Division of McCulloch Motors Corporation, Los Angeles. Its sustained maximum power was 120 bhp (89 kW). The project was eventually dropped in 1954.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_steam_road_vehicles