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As the car moves forward, it pushes against the air in front of it. That air pushes back against the car with the same amount of force (Newtons Third Law of Motion: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction). This slows the car the same as if anything else were in front of the car pushing back against it.

In addition, the friction that allows the tires to grip the road also robs the car of some of its momentum. This is the same process that occurs if you try to slide across the floor in your socks. Even on a slippery floor, there is some friction, and you will slow down eventually.

In a vacuum, however, none of this would be true. In a vacuum, there is no air, so nothing to push back against the car. There is also no roadway or other material to create friction and slow the car. In a vacuum, once a car (or rocket, or anything else) is accelerated to a certain speed, it will continue traveling at that speed forever unless you slow it down again by accelerating it in the opposite direction (or you run into something like a star!)

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