Most modern cars today use internal combustion engines (ICEs). ICEs are heat engines that convert the chemical energy of fuel into mechanical energy. The fuel is burned in a combustion chamber, which creates hot gases that expand and push against a piston. The piston is connected to a crankshaft, which converts the linear motion of the piston into rotary motion. This rotary motion is used to power the car's wheels.
ICEs can be either gasoline or diesel-powered. Gasoline engines are more common in passenger cars, while diesel engines are more common in trucks and commercial vehicles.
Gasoline engines are spark-ignition engines, which means that the fuel is ignited by a spark plug. Diesel engines are compression-ignition engines, which means that the fuel is ignited by the heat of compression.
