Most Americans use automobiles as their primary method of travel. Cars have become an essential part of our everyday life as they are used to complete most of our daily routines. Even with souring gasoline prices it is safe to say that the elasticity of the automobile is finite. However, most Americans do not even understand how a car moves or functions. The mechanical aspect of a car is by far the most complex and interesting part of any vehicle. A car can be broken down into three major mechanical components; the internal combustion engine which is the vehicles power source, the transmission which is its gearing system, and the rear differential axle which applies the power to the road. The internal combustion engine is the cars main power source. The engine is a series of pistons and rods housed inside an engine block. The engines pistons and rods are then rotated by a crankshaft at a high rate of speed through the power of internal combustion. Gasoline is then injected into an intake, where it blends with just the right amount of air to combust upon contact with a spark produced by a spark plug. This explosion then pushes the piston down, which in turn pushes another piston attached to the crankshaft back up. The rotating crankshaft then spins a flywheel attached to it, which transfers the power to the transmission. A transmission is a cars gearing system. It uses a sequence of gears to control the engines speed and revolutions. All engine have a red line, a maximum rpm value above which the engine cannot go without exploding. Depending on the engine the values may vary up or down. Different engines will have different power bands where the power is designed to be. The job of any transmission is to allow the driver to use these bands by shifting to designated gearing ratios to the engines full gearing potential. As the flywheel spins, it is engaged by a