Photo courtesy of PPG.

Boy, talk about change! Cars sure have.

And like they say, you most likely “ain't seen nothin' yet.”

For sure, they've come a long way since 1896. That's the year the auto industry started, with Charles and Frank Duryea putting the first 13 gasoline-powered automobiles on sale in Springfield, Mass.

Horsewhip makers hooted over the idea that the Duryea brothers' loud, smelly motor wagon was supposed to put them out of business.

Duryea Motor Wagon's car had big, wagon-like wheels, no top and a seat much like a buggy. In fact, it looked like a buggy. Moreover, it was steered by a tiller.

But it was a start. And it wasn't anytime before many, many others chimed in with contributions.

Packard introduced the steering wheel in 1900.

Oldsmobile introduced the speedometer in 1901.

Henry Ford founded Ford Motor Company in 1903 and sold his first Model A.

In 1909, he put the Ford Model T on sale. He also introduced mass production assembly lines, which meant cars became more affordable. And he told buyers they could get “any color as long as it is black.”

A lot had happened in a short time, but the changes just kept on coming.

In 1912, the first electric self-starter appeared for the first time on Cadillacs. That may not seem all that big now, but boy oh boy, what a boon that was to mankind! It was the beginning of the end to cranking at the front of the car. Many a man's arm had been broken by those dangerous manual cranks. It fact, Cadillac founder Henry Leland tapped inventor and supplier Charles “Boss” Kettering to develop an electric starter after a close friend of Leland's died from injuries suffered when a Cadillac engine backfired and the manual starter crank flew off and hit him.

Things really improved in 1922: Essex introduced the first sedan with a closed-in roof (can you imagine what a blessing that was: motorists no longer had to endure harsh winds and blowing rain).

In 1923, General Motors initiated the first model change, the brainchild of stylist Harley Earl.

And in 1927, GM created the first design staff when Earl opened an Art and Color department.

Front-wheel drive was introduced in 1934.

In 1939, Buick introduced electric turn signals.

On and on came the changes.

By the time the Automotive Service Association was founded (in 1951), many improvements had been incorporated in automobiles. And many more were yet to come.

Photo courtesy of PPG.

A lot of people still around remember those cars of the early '50s. A lot of 'em had sun visors, wide whitewalls (a car was naked without them and if you couldn't afford a set, there were fake ones that could be glued on), fender skirts and bench seats. Vent windows were in, and wood paneling was big, as well as spotlights. Automatic transmissions were getting popular. Air conditioning was a thing of the future and clocks looked impressive but most of the time didn't work at all or certainly didn't keep time accurately.

BIG was in. Cars just kept getting bigger and bigger. General Motors introduced the first cars with fins in 1949. In 1959, fin-laden Cadillacs reached 200 inches long, twice the length of the Rambler. Other manufacturers also built big, long cars - land yachts, as they were sometimes called. And these behemoths guzzled gas big time.

But times changed. Fuel economy became important, as well as emissions control and environment.

Safety also became a prime consideration. In 1966, the government started requiring seat belts, energy-absorbing steering columns and dashboards, as well as warning flashers and head restraints.

General Motors first offered an air bag as an option on its '73 models.

Unitized construction came with the '80s and the Chevrolet Citation.

And the '80s and '90s brought the computer to the automobile (Wow! The computer has sure revolutionized the auto industry).

The prevalence of electronics on today's vehicles enables detailed monitoring of performance and pinpoint diagnosis of problems.

Photo courtesy of PPG.

The average new vehicle has 60 electronic sensors or monitors and this is expected to increase to about 100 in the next five to 10 years.

Generally, cars are better built today and require fewer repairs. They're more reliable. Thirty years ago, a car with 100,000 miles on it was ready for the junkyard. Today, it's not uncommon for a vehicle to go more than 200,000 miles before having to be replaced.

Cars are more fuel efficient, cleaner running and kinder to the environment than they were in the industry's first half-century. Catalytic converters, combined with oxygen sensors and electronic control systems, have led to big emissions reductions on new cars.

It's amazing what cars will do for drivers these days. They'll sense rain, turn on wipers. Allow you to check tire pressure from inside the car. Give you outside temperature as well as inside temperature. Provide a voice-activated Internet system, which can automatically summon help should you be involved in a collision, as well as provide many other services.

At one point, vans were in. Now, the rage is sport utility vehicles (SUVs).

Some vehicles are still big and long, like the Chevrolet Suburban, which is 219 inches long. But increasingly, small is beautiful in auto design.

And suddenly, what was old is new again. After the initial success of Volkswagen's New Beetle and Chrysler's PT Cruiser, automakers are increasingly looking back in time for inspiration. You can look for more recreations of famous cars of yesterday, say the experts. For example, the new Ford Thunderbird, which reflects the original 1955 T-bird styling, will debut this summer. In early 2002, BMW is set to launch a revived Mini Cooper, the English subcompact that launched the “small-is-beautiful” movement 40 years ago. In addition, Volkswagen recently showed a Microbus concept - a modern, versatile update of the '60s flower-power favorite and minivan forerunner.

So vehicles are ever changing.

When one realizes how far the car has come, it's really impressive. So much we take for granted. But it has taken more than a century for the car to evolve into what it is today. And just think of what the car will become this century, because the changes show no sign of letting up.

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