The Stanley Motor Carriage Company was an American manufacturer of steam cars that operated from 1902 to 1924, going defunct after it failed to adapt to competition from rapidly improving Internal combustion engine vehicles.

In 1899, Freelan and his wife Flora drove one of their cars to the top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire,[2] the highest peak in the northeastern United States.

Owners often modified their Locomobiles by adding third-party accessories, including improved lubricators, condensers, and devices which eased the laborious starting procedure.

To overcome patent difficulties with the design they had sold to Locomobile, the Stanley brothers developed a new model with twin-cylinder engines geared directly to the rear axle.

Later models had aluminium coachwork that resembled the internal combustion cars of the time, but they retained steam-car features by having no transmission, clutch, or driveshaft.

The Stanley company produced a series of advertising campaigns trying to recover the car-buying public away from the "internal explosion engine," but it was unsuccessful.

These were early examples of the fear, uncertainty and doubt advertising campaign, since their aim was not to convince buyers of the advantages of the Stanley Steamer but to suggest that internal combustion automobiles could explode.

The smaller scale of merchandising, a lack of effective advertising, and the general desire of motorists for higher speeds and faster starting than offered by Stanley vehicles were the primary causes of the company's demise.

A song titled "The Stanley Steamer" appears in the 1948 film Summer Holiday (itself a remake of the above Ah, Wilderness) starring Mickey Rooney and Gloria DeHaven.

The number, written by Harry Warren with lyrics by Ralph Blane, features an extended musical sequence with what appears to be a fairly early yellow 10 HP model.

Another Stanley Steamer appears in the 1965 film The Great Race starring Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, with Natalie Wood as the driver of the car.