It is always annoying when you hit the key in your car and it doesn’t start but the reality is that (at least with our junk) slapping some jumpers on it or jiggling some wires usually gets the whole works up and moving and we’re on our way. The whole modern process of “starting your car” can be traced to one automobile and that is the 1912 Cadillac. But here’s the rub. The car was still a massive pain in the ass to start. Sure, this car has an electric starter but there is an amazing amount of stuff that you have to push, pull, flip, fill, and check before you ever get to the part where you hit the button and turn the engine over. Surely this was lots better than hand cranking the sucker, but don’t be fooled into thinking that just because a 1912 Cadillac has an electric starter that it is anything like a modern car to actually start.
We wonder what the world would be like if cars were still remotely like this. More people would certainly know how stuff works, that is for sure. Today’s new cars rarely use a key at all and have virtually defaulted to a button push starting deal that doesn’t even require wrist movement anymore. So long as you can read the words ON/OFF and PUSH, you are in business.
Brass era cars aren’t really our jam under normal circumstances but this video is very cool for the pure gearhead aspect of it. Simply watching this machine come to life is a wonder that we think you will dig.
Press play to see how a 1912 Cadillac was started and then go flip the key in your junk and pat it on the dashboard –
