Tomorrow I have the pleasure of interviewing America’s Car-Dad, Jay Leno, and I’d love for you, dear Autopian readers, to provide some input on the questions you’d like to hear him answer.
The prompt for this interview came from a TV production company spokesperson, who emailed me this:
We’ve been able to carve some time with Jay Leno himself … to chat about “Jay Leno’s Garage” coming to RIG TV and I wanted to explore the idea with you, about doing a retrospective piece on cars and guests he’s had these past years of filming.
I’ve come up with some questions, but while on the phone with Jason Torchinsky just now, I had a thought: What if we asked readers for their thoughts on what I should ask?
Just try to tie in your question with Jay Leno’s Garage somehow; otherwise, let’s hear ’em! Here are some examples:
- Using past Jay Leno’s Garage episodes as examples, what is it in your eyes that gives a car soul?
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Again, referencing a car you drove on your show, what’s a car that you think is criminally underrated?
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You’ve driven the Hoffman with Autopian resident-dipshit Jason Torchinsky: Where does that car rank on your “most dangerous cars I’ve driven in this show” list?
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What’s a car you’ve driven that has been the most universally loved?
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You’ve driven plenty of vintage cars that have been converted to EV; in your eyes, when does it make sense to electrify a car? Obviously, it’s a huge undertaking and a huge compromise that fundamentally changes the car; what are some examples of vehicles that could be ruined by such a move and what are some examples of cars that would be improved?
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???? No new episode of #JayLenosGarage tonight
???? We’re back next week with @hardwick and the GROAT (Greatest Ride Of All Time) pic.twitter.com/IpBELjmVNV— Jay Leno’s Garage (@LenosGarage) June 1, 2018
This will be incredibly personal, but I’d ask him how he views getting old, perhaps even too old to drive, maybe not now but in the future, and his love of cars and vehicles.
Does he loan his cars out for movies? If so, what movies or shows or commercials have his cars been in?
What tricks has he learned about working on his cars? He mentioned once that there’s a trick to getting one of the plugs in a muira out, but didn’t go into what it was.
What are the cars that he still wants to buy. obviously, if he found a barn find Duesenberg he would buy it, but what other cars is he actively looking for?
With the amount of vehicles he owns he would need to change the oil of at least one vehicle every day. What does he do with all the used oil? Does he have an old diesel converted to run on motor oil?
I’m strangely curious about what sort of insurance set up he has with a collection the size of his with as many drivable museum pieces he has.
He likely self insures on many levels given his wealth.
What’s your Holy Grail?
Who would win in a race between him, David Letterman, and Paul Newman?
David Letterman. Paul’s dead, and Jay isn’t very fast
Is the golden age of automobiles behind us, or is there a modern car that would Captivates him enough to be parked in Jay Leno’s Garage? What direction would he like to see the automotive industry head in the next decade? 2 decades?
Which car that he now owns does he feel best represents the complete f over of Conan that he orchestrated at the Tonight Show? And why is it an old bus that he threw him under?
One question I’d ask… Is there any particular vehicle or type of vehicle he’s looking to add to his collection?
Ask him what his daily driver is and why he chose it? Also, a car that he wants but does not already have?
Thanks Dave!
what vehicle has he personally put the most miles on?
Does anyone make denim underwear?
They do make them, however I don’t recommend the ones with the rivets! 😉
Would you ever consider giving your entire question to someone less detestable so that those of us who can’t stand you can still see/watch/learn about all of those cars?
*Collection, not question.
Would love to be able to edit posts
If there was a downvote button, I would downvote your comment because Jay Leno is not ‘detestable’.
Sorry, I’m a Conan fan, and the shit this dude pulled on Conan was the textbook definition of detestable. It’s a shame because he seems like he would be awesome otherwise- amazing taste in cars, a plethora of dad jokes, questionable affinity for denim, but man I just can’t let that go. Probably I should I’m sure. But I totally get not liking my comment, no worries
You should probably read this discussion:
https://www.reddit.com/r/conan/comments/108qtjr/how_was_jay_leno_at_fault_for_what_happened_to/
I don’t know that anything in that thread really changed my mind. Was NBC also highly at fault, sure. But they’re a TV network, thay only care about ratings and advertising dollars. It would have been more suprising to see them act in a different way. I guess at the end of the day it’s more to me that Leno chose to go back, and in doing so cost Conan his job.
A few years ago I got offered to take a position I had held previously, and for a semi-obscene amount of money. As temping as that money was, I just couldn’t do it, because I knew that taking that job would have cost the guy I trained to replace me his job, and he was a good dude. The Leno/Conan thing reminds me of that, and that’s why I just don’t like the guy
Leno could not have gone back if NBC didn’t allow it. The management at NBC were the ones calling the shots, not Jay Leno.
As for the person who replaced you that you trained… if he was doing such a great job, why did your old employer want you back?
Maaaaybe he/she wasn’t doing nearly as good of a job as you did, in spite of being a good dude.
And that’s what I get in that thread…. It sounded to me like NBC had some ‘decision remorse’ with Conan.
And note that I never got into watching the late show with either Conan or Jay.
In my view, NBC bungled things that resulted in setting the stage for a Jay/Conan conflict.
My point behind giving you that link to read is that as you read the different posts and different points of view, it’s clear there was a lot of nuance to the situation.
But in that situation, you have to ask “who is really in charge?”
And that would be NBC.
The worst Jay is guilty of is looking out for his own career… which is something anyone would do… including Conan. . \
Hence, my view that if you want to hate on someone or something for that Conan/Jay situation, the bulk of the blame lies with NBC.
If you really want to get into why the place that replaced me with someone else (you don’t I promise) we can, but it’s a long story and has to do a lot with specific chef stuff. He was still doing a good, just not a truly great oneon certain specifics
And yes I agree that NBC were the dicks in this story, but to me at the end of the day the dude just hopped back in, knowing he’d be hated, and chose taking the job over caring about a guy that was his friend. That to me is shitty, and while NBC may shoulder the majority of the blame for doing everything wrong, there’s still a way to get out of a burning building that doesn’t include stepping over your friend to make it to the door.
It’s totally fine not to see eye to eye on this
Here’s Jay’s story on it. Take it for what it is worth. I am sort of Team Conan on this one, but…well, the ratings were dropping, and networks will do what they do.
https://youtu.be/X3qB8W1bObM?si=C5sIUXjIaQ38bjAs
Before his success in show biz (leading to his ability to have workshop facilities), did his wife ever get to park her car in the garage?
Is he a side-sleeper? If so, will head-to-toe be alright in the Aztec?
Jay Leno is always very positive about every car he has on the show, regardless if it is his own or from a visitor. Is there any car that he absolutely despises and if so, for what reasons?
Good one!
I find it fascinating to ask the older generation about their first car. My dad has some great stories about immigrating to America in the 1960’s and buying an old Buick Electra that he drove across the country. Ask Jay what his first car was, and separately what was the first car that he fell in love with.
If you were to build a pyramid on the scale of those in Egypt and needed to select one car to entomb with you to drive in the afterlife, which would it be? Bear in mind that the weather is always good in the Great Beyond and your entire staff of mechanics would be buried alive with you, but whatever car you choose would be inaccessible to the living world unless some archaeologist wants to risk a curse.
WTF is RIG TV???
https://therokuchannel.roku.com/details/1f411521816758908539e2ba86fe9eb6/rig-tv
RIG TV is from Fremantle’s Original Productions studio, the creators of “Jay Leno’s Garage” in addition to shows such as “Deadliest Catch” and “Bering Sea Gold”. Showcasing the toughest jobs on earth, the channel originally launched in April on Roku and is currently streaming series such as “Monster Garage,” “Black Gold,” “Swords: Life on the Line,” “Monster House” and “Wild Justice.” In addition to Roku, RIG TV is now available on Freevee, Fubo, Google TV, Sling TV and Plex with Jay Leno’s Garage premiering on Monday, September 30th.
Car with the highest horsepower per liter in his fleet.
What car has the most seats and can fit the most people in one trip that isnt a bus in his fleet.
What vehicle out of his gas vehicles gets the best mpg?
Does he still wrench on the fun ones himself even though he has hired mechanics to do most of it?
Who is his favorite maker of denim shirts?
Will steam ever make a comeback maybe someday as an EV range extender?
How much is he willing to pay for a “HOLY GRAIL!!!”2014 BMW i3 with a REX, a new $30k battery and AC compressor?
No?
How about a HOLY GRAIL!!! some assembly required Jeep Grand Cherokee with a manual transmission, external tire carrier and the sweet, sweet smell of baked in kitten birthings?
No?
How about a used Leaf with a few miles of range on an almost dead battery?
No?
Keep going till you run out of cars.
David, please ask Jay… What is your favourite fuel or power source? We’re guessing it’s not steam. What? Too soon? Okay, seriously… steam, hydrogen, diesel, kerosene, gasoline, alcohol (get your mind out of the bar) or possibly electricity? There can be only one.