Any Effingham sports fan will be able to appreciate this term. Usually used to describe the players on your basketball, soccer or hockey team and the importance of teamwork.

While it may be odd to compare the physical attributes and qualities of an athlete or sports team to that of a car, the comparisons are very clear. For one thing, your team’s “engine” and the engine in your car are both responsible for moving their respective teams forward. Similarly, if your team’s engine does not perform at its best, then this takes away from other skilled players on your team. This is similar to a car where there is very little point in having a slick paint job or top-of-the-line wheels if your engine isn’t operating at its optimal level. The fact of the matter is, an engine is key to ensuring your vehicle does what it's built and designed to do. Without it performing at its best, you are sure to be on the losing team.

Without an engine, there really is no car. Pure and simple, the engine is the car and the car is the engine. Sure, other components such as good brakes, tires and exhaust pipes are all vitally important, but without an engine working at its optimal level then you’re going nowhere, fast!

Wheels may be thousands of years old but the car is just over one hundred, and the reason for that is simple; it’s the engine. The evolution in the design and manufacturing of engines was possibly the most important factor in the development of the modern car as we know it today. Without the engine it is very likely that we would still be travelling by riding horses or taking the train – another mode of transport that relies heavily on the role of the engine.

The fact of the matter is that without a maintained and functioning engine your car is merely a shell with wheels.