We can rephrase the question in a way that is easy to answer in the context of special relativity: did the front door close before the back door opened? Clearly, in the rest frame of the garage, the answer is yes, because the length of the car ( $3 \mbox{ m}$ ) is less than the length of the garage ( $4 \mbox{ m}$ ). However, in the rest frame of the car, the answer is clearly no, because the length of the garage ( $2.4 \mbox{ m}$ ) is less than the length of the car ( $5 \mbox{ m}$ ). Thus, answer (E) is correct.

Solution to 1986 Problem 71