Yes, early cars had to be started with a crank handle that stuck out of the front of the grill, similar to how early propeller engines had to be hand-spun to get going. Apparently if you didn't crank it quite hard enough the handle could snap back at you rather violently, one of my great-grandmothers had her arm broken this way.
> the handle could snap back at you rather violently
If it backfired. I got thrown over a Studebaker that way when I was like 8; I wasn't big enough to turn the handle by hand so I was jumping on it. It usually worked tho.
With the piston engines they had to be turned over by hand first to let the oil drain out of the cylinders before starting them by pulling on the propeller.
