Where the rubber meets the road
A car is driving to the right. There is air resistance, so the driver needs to keep the car in gear and their foot lightly on the accelerator to maintain a constant speed. The car's tires are rolling without slipping/skidding.
In which direction does the force of friction from the road act on the tires of the car?
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1 solution
The engine produces torque on the wheels. The contact point where the wheels touch the pavement puts a force of friction to the left on the ground. As per Newton's 3rd law, the floor therefore puts an equal and opposite reaction force on the wheels.
Therefore, the ground puts a frictional force on the car to the right. This is in fact what is referred to as "traction", and it is the force that propels a car forward.