Unlike older vehicles, which needed ignition tune-ups at least once a year, most vehicles on the road today have electronic ignition systems that are built to go for years without the need for them.

Have you ever put much thought into the specifics of your car's ignition system-above and beyond the simple fact of whether it's working or not, that is? More specifically, how about those spark plug ...

Since 1914 auto makers have used the Kettering or inductive ignition system: a battery, transformer (coil), a cam-driven mechanical switch (breaker points), a distributor and spark plugs. The system ...

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.