Thanks to all of you.
Heston: I realise that engine failure doesn't always mean disaster, (far from it) and that aero engines run far harder for much longer than car engines are required to do.
The curiosity I had was more to do with the level of automation (or lack of it). For example, in my old 1960's car I had to start the engine from cold with a manual 'choke' , carefully adjust the mixture as it warmed up, and it would stall immediately if I got it wrong, although the consequences when it did were just inconvenience. And now , thanks to fuel injection, I don't need to bother with this. Fuel injection would remove all risk of problems due to carburettor icing and incorrect mixture, and the potentially more serious inconvenience, as well as alleviating the pilots workload and anxiety levels.
But of course I understand that it's not an option in older aircraft , which seem to form the majority of the private flying fleet, as seen via Prune forums.
However, I guess that safety might be much improved if some way was found to retrofit some level automation.
Thanks again for answering my question.