At 7,000 rpm, a spark plug ignites the air/fuel mixture nearly 60 times per second. Any one of those 60 sparks going amiss can at best be mildly annoying, and at worst cost you a race or an engine.

Back in the day, point-triggered ignition system tune-ups were routine and happened roughly every 12,000 miles, along with a set of spark plugs and an ignition timing adjustment. These days, we’re so ...

For something that's everywhere, but can't normally be seen, electricity is pretty amazing. It can produce light, heat, and something that's important to most of us: it can jump an air gap in a ...