I had just finished tuning up the engine on my Datsun 4-wheel-drive pickup truck and wanted to see how it sounded, so I hit the button on the garage door opener, then grabbed a rag to wipe the grease off my hands while I waited for the door to open.

The truck, however, did not want to wait. It backed out of the garage almost before it had enough room to get under the opening door, and because the doorway was so narrow, I couldn’t chase it until it was out the door and backing down the driveway. It made it practically all the way to the street before I had a chance to go after it.

After it crossed the street, it went straight up the neighbors’ driveway and into their garage, shoving their old Ford pickup against one of the family cars. Then all three vehicles kept going on through the back door of their garage into the yard where they just missed the chicken coop.

Right about then was when I finally caught up with my truck, opened the door and jumped into the driver’s seat, mashing the brake pedal to the floor. That’s when I realized the engine wasn’t even running. It had backed across the street and shoved two cars out of the way using only the starter. Now that’s some pretty awesome engineering. I only hoped the neighbors would be as impressed as I was.