A 1916 Autocar coal miner brought simpler times to Jay Leno's garage

If you want to see exactly how much driving has changed over the past century, take a look at the 1916 Autocar coal truck featured in a recent episode of "Jay Leno's Garage."

One of several vehicles from this era in Leno's personal collection, this truck is a true throwback to the early days of driving. It has no battery (only magnetos) and only an acetylene light and hand crank. It has wooden wheels with solid vulcanized rubber tires, and the rear tires have holes for winter driving spikes. Somewhat alarmingly, Leno says this is a 100-year-old original.

The advantage of this anachronistic hardware, Leno explains in the video, is that the engine starts right up, even if the truck sits for a long time. The hassle-free engine is a two-cylinder boxer of unknown displacement, producing 18 hp. That's enough to haul 2.5 tons of coal at a top speed of about 25 mph, transmitted to the rear wheels via a three-speed manual transmission.

The engine is located under the seat, and the seat folds down for access. Due to its simple design, the main maintenance task is to top off the oil, the amount of which is determined by turning the spigot to see how much comes out. Because of the engine's slow operating speed, getting the oil up to temperature may be difficult, but that also means there is less chance of overheating, Leno said.

Suspension consists of sturdy-looking lead springs, and mechanical brakes handle deceleration.

Even the work for which this truck was built is outdated. The trucks were designed to haul heating coal to homes and other buildings. Home coal furnaces went the way of the hand starter long ago for air quality and carbon emissions reduction.

Autocar, one of the oldest surviving automakers, was founded in Pennsylvania in the early 20th century, initially building cars and trucks, but soon narrowed its focus to commercial vehicles. The company is responsible for several innovations, Leno noted, including ceramic spark plugs and rear end reduction gears. The company still manufactures commercial trucks.

Leno describes driving this truck as "calming" because of its smooth ride, relaxed pace, and simple controls. Watch the full video and see for yourself.