Jay Leno's Garage

[Harry P.]

I might be the only person on this entire forum who, until yesterday, had never seen "Jay Leno's Garage."

I mean, I knew it existed, but I had never seen an episode... so last night as I was surfing around on youtube as I often do, I clicked on it–and I loved it! In fact I liked it so much I watched probably 8-10 episodes in a row! I don't know if it's scripted, but it seems like Jay (and his guest, if there is one) just basically talks off the top of his head, very casually... but he knows his stuff. He gets into detail, but not so much that you have to be a gearhead to understand what he's talking about. Very well done, very informative, just the right amount of info to keep "car guys" interested but not so much to overwhelm those who don't know as much about cars.

I'm a Jay Leno fan, I'm a car fan, I'm a youtube fan... finally I got with the program, so to speak, and put all three together... I'll be watching more episodes again tonight.

And if it's possible that there are actually others out there like me who had never seen it, check it out.

[58 Impala]

His website is great,Jay knows a lot about all different types of cars and off the wall mechanical stuff. I also like when Dennis Gage visits his shop on "My Classic Car"

[Harry P.]

His website is great,Jay knows a lot about all different types of cars and off the wall mechanical stuff.

Yes, after watching all those episodes last night, I was impressed by his "car guy" level of knowledge. He does know his stuff. And the really cool thing is, he actually drives all of his cars. They're not just sitting there to look at... he enjoys them. He even did a burnout with his '63 Jaguar XKE...

[Matt Bacon]

I think it's fantastic -- especially in HD over a fast broadband connection. Watch the 20-odd minutes on the Jaguar XKSS, or the three or four shorter episodes on the restoration of his Maserati 3500... (actually it's that sequence, recommended to me by Skip Jordan, IIRC, that led me to discover Leno's Garage). I don't think it's on regular TV over here, or of it is it's buried on some channel I've never found. Even now, I've no idea whether it's a TV show in the US, or just a well-written, high production value "podcast" that Jay does as a favour to all us classic car fans out here... I always can always rely on it to find something to entertain and enthrall me for 20 minutes or so.

If you're interested in British cars at all, keep an eye open for a 7-part series called "For the Love of Cars", which has just aired over here. Each episode is a restoration drama -- from barn-find to auction house -- of some more or less "everyday" classic British car -- Mini, Stag, Landy, Escort, TC, De Lorean (De Lorean!!!?). I know these shows are ten a penny, but it's presented by Philip Glenister (Gene Hunt in Life and Mars and Ashes to Ashes if that means anything to you) and the restorations are done by Ant Anstead (http://www.evanta.co.uk) and his team. The chemistry between the two of them is great, and the restorations are brilliant...

bestest,

M.

[Harry P.]

I love the variety. Of the episodes I saw last night, there was a Miura, a Cord, an XKE, a '41 Plymouth "Businessman's Coupe," a brass-era 1911 Packard, a '63 split-window Corvette, and more... and he drove them all on the street. Not just putt-putting around in a parking lot or private space, but really driving them, in traffic, on the street. Great stuff.

[om617]

I really like the Jay Leno`s Garage on Youtube. Nice blend of serious,facts and little bit of joking around. I know it`s an cliche who always seem to annoy some,but hes storys from he was young is really funny and interesting. The variety is very nice,he is truly passioned about cars and everything that goes with it. Not sure if many have noticed,he seem to have tons of memorabilia on the walls. Jay looks to be an original,always the same denim shirt,as Boyd did with hes Hawaii lol. I have never seen one episode of the talkshow,maby because of my location,i only know him as a car guy.

[Art Anderson]

I love the variety. Of the episodes I saw last night, there was a Miura, a Cord, an XKE, a '41 Plymouth "Businessman's Coupe," a brass-era 1911 Packard, a '63 split-window Corvette, and more... and he drove them all on the street. Not just putt-putting around in a parking lot or private space, but really driving them, in traffic, on the street. Great stuff.

FWIW,

Leno has a large and very nice website devoted to his garage as well--very worth visiting!

Art

[SoCalCarCulture]

Actually visiting Jay's Garage is a real treat, unfortunately he doesn't allow cameras.

[heinz74]

love the episode with the Shelby GT350 ..he sometimes uses it to drive to the studio..and he gives it some real poke

the guy knows what he is talking about ..be it US cars or Euro..and just like Harry said he talks about the in a way everybody will understand what he's saying

great guy Mr Leno

[Dragline]

My favorite Youtube subscription.

Bob

[Guest]

Never seen it. Will have to check it out.

[rmvw guy]

One of my favorite car guys. I am the same age as Jay so, easy to relate to all his stories. I often think of myself haveing a great collection like his, only in 1/25 scale.

[bbowser]

One of my favorite car guys. I am the same age as Jay so, easy to relate to all his stories. I often think of myself haveing a great collection like his, only in 1/25 scale.

LOL, that's kind of what this is all about, huh? Creating the cars we would love to own in 1:1. Jay is definitely 'living the dream' of car guys everywhere.

[Jeff Johnston]

You have a lot of catching up to do LOL This is, by far, the best car show out there. NO drama, no fake timelines or personal conflicts, just a real car guy talking about cars. My son't favorite saying now is "I think it's time to take it for a ride".

I read Jay's book and he;s been a car guy form the get go. He grew up here right near in Andover, MA. I'd love to meet him. I'm not a start struck kind of guy, but Jay does a great show, isn't full of himself AT ALL and seems to be a guy who can relate to anyone who loves cars.

I'd love to see him do a TV car show, but then it wouldn't be as good..

Edited July 26, 2014 by Jeff Johnston

[unclescott58]

My favorite Youtube subscription.

Bob

Ditto. Leno is still the best. Have not watched one Tonight Show since he left. Yet I've watch just about every Jay Leno's Garage episode. And will continue doing so as long as he keeps on doing them.

Scott

[Craig Irwin]

He even did a burnout with his '63 Jaguar XKE...

He almost did a burn-up with his '06 Stanley Steamer !

[Dr. Cranky]

I watch it all the time, very cool stuff. A lot better than the Tonight Show.

[JPS_Lotus]

The thing I've always loved about Jay's collection is he actually drives what he has in it.

Instead of opting to be the collector who has the money to accumulate tons of cars that sit in perpetuity, he is an active user of his collection. A shame so many car collections become nothing more than high-priced museum sets that rarely see any use.

[Harry P.]

There is a story in the local paper's auto section today about Jay and his collection. He has 130 cars (and 93 motorcycles). Each car is always kept on a charger (unless it's a crank start), each car is always ready to start up and drive any time Jay feels like taking one out for a spin. He has four full-time mechanics on his staff that keep everything in good shape.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/chi-jay-leno-opens-doors-to-eclectic-130car-garage-20140714,0,6176711.story

[Dr. Cranky]

What I would love to find out is the budget for running such an operation. It must be in the six figures to keep such an operation running. If you have the money, why not?

[Harry P.]

What I would love to find out is the budget for running such an operation. It must be in the six figures to keep such an operation running. If you have the money, why not?

When you have "Jay Leno money," it's not a problem!

What I would like to know is... what's the whole collection worth? That must be quite a number!

[Tom Geiger]

Jay seems to be a fairly normal nice guy. He pulls no rank at shows and treats everyone who approaches him well. There was a story a while back that he was at a show and some guy had his hood lock stuck on an exotic car (I think it was a Lambo), Jay said he knew the issue, crawled under the guy's car and fixed it.

We do realize that Jay's car collection is run as a business. With his money it's probably set up to lose money for tax reasons. I figured when Jay lost The Tonight Show it was a blessing for him, now he can spend all his time playing with cars! And doing TV and such related to cars. I'd love to be him!

[maltsr]

I'm with you Harry on this one. Coincidentally, I saw my very first episode last night when I saw link from Lowrider magazine's facebook page. Now I'm a subscriber too and can't wait to watch more

[Harry P.]

I'm with you Harry on this one. Coincidentally, I saw my very first episode last night when I saw link from Lowrider magazine's facebook page. Now I'm a subscriber too and can't wait to watch more

When I finally saw my first episode the other day, I watched like 8-10 more... and another 8-10 the next day. What a great series! And Jay is the perfect "car guy"... he's down to earth and doesn't overload the show with a bunch of tech stuff that only a gearhead can understand. He manages to give us the technical info without being overly technical. Well done, Jay!

[1930fordpickup]

These are great shows to watch. I feel the dress code for Jay is to make him look the part of a normal car guy, afterall I think he is just that. A normal car guy that loves to drive and tinker with things. The range of powered equipment is awesome. The cars that he has on the show is very broad . Trucks , tractors , cars, bikes, gas, electric, steam and even stationary engines have been recorded for his shows. Always good for a few hours or more.