-It drives nice.
-Yeah.
-how's the gearbox feel?
-Fine.
Oh, there's my neighbor.
Turn on the machine g*ns!
[terence]
let's do it, jay,
he looks very dodgy.
[dramatic music]
[mock g*nf*re]
[jay]
tonight, on jay leno's garage...
-Well, far out!
-...We're paying tribute...
-It's about time, right?
-...To a late night legend...
[paul]
it was never not thrilling.
Kept seeing his car and went,
"wow, johnny's here."
[jay]
...America's favorite
sports car...
[dwight]
I feel like I've truly
come to california now.
[jay]
...Everything weird
about the '70s...
[wilmer]
every time I get in the car,
I get a little emotional.
[jay]
...The sweetest hard-rocking
queen of heart...
Feels like a Sunday drive,
doesn't it?
More like a Thursday drive,
but close enough.
...And the unfortunate son
who drives this hippie wagon.
Everybody was naked
and covered with mud!
[jay]
so join me as we honor
all things automotive!
-Put out the smoke!
-Let's do it, jay!
[rock music]
[jay chuckling]
[mellow music]
[rumble of car's engine]
it was a rainy day
in August of 1969.
[psychedelic rock music]
thousands of people were heading
to a new music festival
called woodstock.
and one of them,
a 19-year-old kid from boston...
...Decided to see
his favorite band,
creedence clearwater revival.
I was leaving boston
and driving in my old mercedes,
just like this one,
up to woodstock, new york.
Now you might think,
"why would a 19-year-old kid
have a mercedes-benz?"
well, mercedes-benz
did not have the reputation
back then that it has now.
I loved it. I drove that thing
all over the place.
Drove it almost all the way
to woodstock.
More on that later.
[bluesy guitar music]
I never made it to see ccr
back then,
but I do get to see
their front man today.
[car horn beeps]
-john, how are ya?
-Good, jay. How are you?
-Good to see ya!
-Good to see you, sir.
[jay]
is that the guitar?
[john]
why, this is the guitar
that was at woodstock,
yes indeed.
[jay]
john fogerty
is a solo artist now,
but back in the day,
he was the lead singer,
guitarist, and songwriter
for
creedence clearwater revival.
John made the rolling stone's
top 100 greatest songwriters,
top 100 greatest singers,
but more importantly,
he's one of
my favorite musicians.
I always liked your sound
'cause it's uniquely...American.
You know, I mean,
I like the beatles
and the rolling stones
and all of that,
but your sound
just struck home,
"fortunate son,"
all those kinds of songs.
"who'll stop the rain,"
now that--
I always thought that was
written after woodstock,
during woodstock,
about woodstock.
It was after woodstock
and it was more or less
about woodstock.
[jay]
right, right. But the rain
was sort of a metaphor,
right, for just...
[john]
yeah, the baloney
that was coming down...
[jay]
baloney, yeah, yeah.
"baloney" sounds better
than "bs."
yeah, all right, baloney.
So, tell me about woodstock.
You guys were headlining there,
right?
Yeah, we were supposed
to headline on Saturday night.
It was all being run
by a bunch of hippies.
So, it got later and later
and finally, about midnight,
the grateful dead went on.
We found out 50 years later,
they divulged that
the whole band took lsd
as they walked onstage
at woodstock.
So, apparently,
they were up there
just sort of wandering.
Finally, they're done,
I come running out to play,
and I look down
and everybody was naked
and everybody was asleep
and covered with mud!
-Right.
-So I go up to the mic,
I'm frustrated.
"we're playing
our hearts out up here for you,
we just want you
to have a good time!"
way out there somewhere,
some guy's flicking
his lighter
and I hear him say,
"don't worry about it, john!
We're with you!"
I actually played the whole rest
of my woodstock show
-for that guy.
-That's funny.
Well, I got something
you might like, you know?
In July of '69,
I went to a store called kaps
in lawrence, massachusetts,
and I bought some
woodstock clothes,
which I still have.
Stay right there.
You gotta see the jacket
I bought.
[funky music]
[laughing]
what do you think?
I tried to put it on,
but as you can see,
I was a little smaller then.
I can kind of get one arm in.
Now I'm stuck,
I can't get it off.
But anyway,
this was 400 bucks in 1969.
[john]
wow. You were going
to woodstock.
[jay]
I was gonna. You know, I...
I got within 60 miles,
the traffic was terrible,
I was with my buddy,
and we went to a strip club
in times square
and then we drove
back to boston.
That's all we did.
So we never actually made it.
At the time, I thought of it
as kind of a nuisance.
[jay]
yeah. Now, I want
to talk about your van.
Wanna show me that,
and we'll take a ride?
-Yeah, there you go.
-Let's do it.
-Sounds good.
-Okay.
[funky blues rock music]
well, far out!
[jay]
some damn hippie following me,
it looks like.
[laughing]
tell us about the van.
What's the history?
Few years ago,
we started doing a show
that we called my 50 year trip.
You know, kinda reflective
of having been at woodstock
and, of course, I think
the number one symbol
for a hippie
would be having a hippie bus.
[jay]
yeah, it looks great.
I mean, it looks so period,
it's hilarious.
[engine puttering]
[john]
wow, I've made
my first transition
to low gear.
-That was awesome.
-There you go.
[laughing]
what year is that bus?
-'68.
-'68, yeah.
So that'd be about
I think I could probably,
you know,
generate about that myself
just getting behind it
and pushing.
I know, it's true.
Believe it or not, this vw wagon
isn't that fuel efficient.
Oh sure, it runs on love,
rainbows, and tie-dye,
but it still only gets an
average of 20 miles per gallon.
That's only two miles per gallon
more than a hummer h3,
while the prius gets
That makes the prius, like,
Well, in numbers anyway.
Not in spirit, of course.
I remember reading
there was a car
that you used to sit in
and play.
I don't know if you actually
recorded in it.
Do you know what
I'm talking about?
Uh, well, when I was very young,
it was my mom's car.
I was thinking about this
the other day.
That's the first time I heard
"susie q" was in that car.
Old buick, and there was
no padding on the dashboard,
so you could drum
on that dashboard,
just go crazy.
But I'd go out in front
of the house on the street there
where the car was parked
and listen to the radio.
That's funny.
You know, that old buick,
I had a '55,
was one of my first cars,
and that was one
of my first jokes,
there was no padding
on the dashboard,
when you had an accident,
if you hit your head,
they'd just hose it off
and sell it to somebody else.
That was the gag.
[laughing]
yeah, it was all metal.
I mean, that dashboard
was built like a tank,
but it had quite a sound.
But it's interesting that
even though
I couldn't drive yet,
I was probably 12, 13 years old,
but I preferred to go out
and sit in her car
and listen to the radio.
Lord knows I must have
run the battery down
a bunch of times, ya know?
Oh yeah, that's funny.
[john]
guy behind me thinks
he fell into a time warp.
We'll let this guy
go ahead of us.
[john]
I don't know if I got
a turn signal on this thing.
[drone of passing car]
well, if he didn't smile
at the hippie bus,
he's a conservative.
Yeah, yeah.
-[john laughs]
-well, john, I'm gonna take off
'cause your car is so damn slow
it'll take me six hours.
So, you're on your own.
[mellow rock music]
peace, brother.
[laughs]
thanks, pal!
[country music]
some country artists
pride themselves
on their tractors
and on their pickup trucks,
and of course
their line dancing.
Others, they just want
a little more giddy-up
in that old pickup.
[dwight]
now jay, when he falls off,
the usual?
[jay]
yeah, you get his watch,
I'll take his boots.
like my good friend,
dwight yoakam.
He's a corvette-lovin',
h*nky-tonkin',
rockabilly country superstar
who's been on
the tonight show more
than any other musical guest.
we also run
a little side hustle
at the local bull riding
watering hole.
You know, pick up
some extra cash.
[rider]
yee-haw!
[dwight]
"yee-haw," that's always
a good sign.
-[thud]
-oh!
[jay]
come on, let's go
ride some real vehicles.
-Come on.
-Okay.
[jay]
I got my '99 corvette.
-I got you a...
-Oh, wow.
[jay]
this seems more country,
a '61 restomod.
-A route 66 car, isn't it?
-Exactly. Exactly.
Come on, hop in,
let's go for a ride.
Coming up, we drive
america's favorite sports car
with america's favorite
country star.
[dwight]
now, we're not gettin'
on the freeway, right?
'cause I'm not licensed
to drive on the freeway anymore.
[jay]
and we meet the new, but old,
but actually new
aston martin db5.
This is quite possibly the most
famous car in the world.
[jay]
come on, let's go ride
some real vehicles. Come on.Ol
and country music
renaissance man, dwight yoakam.
Hop in, let's go for a ride.
Saluting the all-american
chevy corvette.
I'm--you're gonna allow me
to drive it?
-Take it, it's yours!
-Petersen museum
knows about this?
What they don't know
won't hurt 'em.
[dwight]
okay, it's better to ask
forgiveness?
[jay]
exactly!
Since dwight's a corvette guy,
it's only fitting
to have two
of the finest examples.
The 1961 convertible
was truly a piece of art.
Sporting a custom
gm ls3 crate engine,
it's no wonder
this beauty is on display
at the petersen
automotive museum.
And my own personal
with a 5.7-liter v8
that makes 345 horsepower,
handles like a dream,
and not only is it
one of my favorite corvettes,
it's one of my favorite
all-time sports cars.
[rock music]
[engine rumbling]
[dwight]
this is a pretty cool car.
You can feel the torque
in this thing.
Yeah, there's about 550 horses,
pretty quick.
[he laughs]
[dwight]
I like it.
Well, I feel like I've
truly come to california now.
The way I should have in 1977
on route 66, huh,
in this corvette.
But you've been a corvette guy
for a long time, right?
[dwight]
the first one I ever owned
was a 1973.
I loved that--
that year, the mako shark,
I thought was the prettiest ever
because it still had
the chrome rear bumper
but the rubber nose,
and it had no grilles
on the side, right?
I'd been fascinated with that
since I was in high school,
and when I finally had
some money
after the first record hit,
I found a used one
and I put the chrome
luggage rack on the rear deck.
-Right, right.
-To be a hillbilly about it.
And you know what? I've owned
three corvette convertibles
and I've never had the top down
once on any of 'em.
[jay laughs]
why?
-That's how redneck I am.
-Yup, yup.
And we're not getting
on the freeway, right?
-No, no.
-'cause I'm not licensed
to drive on the freeway anymore.
I mean...
[laughing]
you have any european cars,
or you always a corvette guy?
[dwight]
well, I've got a--you know,
'cause I have a baby now,
we had to get a daddy car
for me, something four-door.
I can't legally put
his baby seat in that corvette.
-Right.
-I found a maserati quattroporte
and we threw some pipes on that
and it's truly
an italian sports car.
You know, you could cut
the rear seat
and put a pickup bed in it,
make it a little more redneck.
[laughing]
yeah!
[upbeat country music]
[engine rumbling]
[laughing]
[jay]
so, the career's
still going strong, huh?
[dwight]
thank goodness.
Both of us are very lucky.
You sort of revitalized
country music.
Not that it ever went away,
but you brought it
more into the mainstream.
You know, every ten years or so
in southlifornia,
there seems to be a resurgence
of a young audience
listening to country
and rediscovering
the rock crowd in l.A.
So that's what pulled me
to the west coast.
And hee t there
in '77,
it had died down again,
but about 1980, it blossomed
and they called it "cowpunk"
that time around.
And that's the sce ike .
Best country song ever written,
what do you vote for?
"lost highway"
is tough to beat
by hank williams.
[jay]
that's a great song.
My choice for best country song
was "el paso"
by marty robbins.
[dwight]
well, "el paso"
is a great, great song.
It's, you know, it's cinematic.
George jones told me a story
first time I was working
a date with him
and he had me on his bus.
He looked at me,
'cause I'm, you know, a kid,
you know, first hit.
Just to shake me up,
he looked at me, he said,
"dwight, you know what the life
of I sa"uo,rgkis?"
he said,
"drivin' this year's car,
wearin' last year's clothes,
spendin' next year's money."
-rea ts nny.
-I said, "oh my god."
I got off the bus and I went,
"please, lord,
'sunny fun
don't let that become me."
, hasn't.
You've hadndous success.
It's been an honor
to know you all these years.
I mean, we see each other
every four or five years.
It's always fun
when we get together.
Thanks for coming
on the show!
Well, thank you
for having me, buddy.
[funky music]
[jay]
james bond is the world's
most famous spy,
but while you may not think
that sean connery
was the best bond ever--
though he was--
you gotta admit that tricked-out
db5 in goldfinger
was the beginning
of a remarkable marriage
between the bond franchise
and aston martin.
And to honor that
continuing relationship,
aston martin has come out
with a new tribute db5
that anyone can actually buy,
even if you're not a spy.
All you need is
a cool $3.5 million
and you can be
the next james bond,
or at least
drive the identical car.
[jay coughing]
as you know, I usually
wear my denims on the show,
but, uh, I came into work today
and they weren't
sufficiently wrinkled,
so I had to wear
my street clothes.
This is what I normally wear
around the house
when I'm doing chores
and meeting with friends.
But enough about that,
let's meet the man responsible
for this fabulous 1964 db5,
terejenkins.
-How are you? Good to see you.
-I'm fantastic, jay.
-Great to see you.
-Tell us what we have here.
[terence]
this is quite ssib
the most famcar
in the world.
No, it is the most famous car
in the world.
Thank you very much. I'm not
gonna argue with you there.
So what we're looking at
is actually the continuation
of the db5
from the movie goldfinger.
And it's actually
the first time that aston martin
has joined forces
with eon productions
to produce a car
that was developed for a movie
for the general public
to purchase.
So this is a car that
aston martin built as of late
using all the same tools
that were used 55 years ago.
But this thing really was
the cutting-edge automobile
back then.
It was. So the engine
is a four-liter straight-six.
Produces about hpor.
Every panel in this car
has been shaped by hand.
-Right.
-And it actually takes
about 4,500 hours
to build a db5.
Let's put it into context.
A regular high-volume car
from a major automobile company
takes about 20 hours to produce.
A high-end handcrafted
performance car,
like the 2021 dbs
from aston martin,
takes about 280 hours.
So when you realize
that this continuation db5
takes 4,500 hours...
Eh, the price tag starts
to make a little more sense.
[terence]
we actually worked
with chris corbould
who's an oscar-winning
special effects supervisor,
and he worked with us
to make sure
the authenticity
of all the components
and the gadgets,
anviously make sure that
they last the life of the car.
Does it have the ejection seat
since it has the hole
in the roof?
It has the hole in the roof.
It's got the button,
but it doesn't eject the seat.
[jay]
no, you can't really do that
'cause every idiot--
"hey, larry, ha-ha!"
-exactly.
-Yeah, yeah.
But all the other crazy gadgets
from the movie actually work.
The license plate that rotates
to throw off your enemies,
the fake machine g*ns that pop
out of the turn signals,
the 100% certified
bulletproof screen,
the oil sprayer that sprays
water--just to be safe--
the battering ram that gets you
out of l.A. Traffic,
and of course, the smoke b*mb
to make your getaway.
You know, everything you need
for that perfect Sunday joyride.
Well, can we, uh,
can we take it for a spin?
[terence]
I think we should take it
for a spin, don't you?
[jay]
when we return...
Oh, there's my neighbor.
...I finally get my 007 on!
Turn on the machine g*ns!
[mock g*nf*re]
[squealing, shattering]
[jay chuckles]
[dramatic surf rock music]
that pays tribute to, well,
the aston martin db5.
[engine roaring]
-it drives nice.
-Yeah.
-how's the gearbox feel?
-Fine.
you know, when you're
in a car like this,
you start to believe
you really are a spy.
Yeah, that's it.
[tires squealing]
oh, there's my neighbor.
-Turn on the machine g*ns!
-Let's do it, jay.
He looks very dodgy.
[dramatic music]
[mock g*nf*re]
[tires squealing]
[shattering]
[jay chuckles]
somebody may have gotten
our license number.
Let's change the plate.
[terence]
there we go, jay.
[jay]
we might have to
ram our way through.
Deploying battering ram.
[gear whining]
[squealing, shattering]
-put out the smoke!
-Let's do it, jay!
they're right behind us!
-put up the bulletproof shield!
-I'll do it, jay.
Make a right up ahead.
[g*nf*re]
[jay]
on this next corner,
put out the oil squirter
and just flood the road
with oil.
[expl*si*n]
I think we're in the clear now.
oh, you've got a phone
in the car.
We do, yes.
[sultry music]
hello, p*ssy.
Shaken, not stirred.
Thank you.
[terence laughs]
[mock g*nf*re]
buckle up, folks,
it's time to assess and caress
with donald osborne.
[upbeat music]
all right,
if you're wondering why
I'm wearing my finest
dress blues,
it's because I've been reunited
with my old friend
donald osborne
and we are going to discuss
a subject that comes up
all the time,
it's replicas
and tributes.
What is a replica
and what is a tribute, donald?
[donald]
it depends on what side
of the atlantic you're on.
-Right.
-The brits are very specific
to say that a replica
is an exact tool-room copy
made by the manufacturer
in the way the original
was made.
Here, in america,
we tend to think
of a tribute car
as one which has the aspects
of the original car,
but wasn't built
by the original manufacturer
in the original way.
Well, yeah, that--
yeah, it's confusing.
[donald]
let's try and figure out
how it works
with these three cars.
We've got
a 2008 superformance
shelby daytona coupe,
a 1972 porsche 911 rsr,
and a 2019 allard j2x mkiii.
There are certain types
of cars like these
that are based
on original cars
built in the year
of manufacture;
there are other cars
that are completely new cars.
We can start our conversation
with the allard.
This allard is a 2019 car,
because it is
a brand-new construction.
It is not based
on an old chassis
from something else.
The brits have a great history
of building specials,
taking a chassis and putting
a different engine in,
and your choice of engine,
either a cadillac engine
or a lincoln engine.
Most of them were cadillacs,
and they were quite successful
in road racing,
especially in the u.S.
In the late '40s and early '50s.
[jay]
and this would be a tribute,
because the engine isn't even
close to a cadillac,
it's a modern chevrolet...
-It's a modern chevrolet ls3.
-...Ls3.
It's not drum brakes;
I'm sure it's disc brakes.
I mean, it doesn't resemble
the original in just about
-any way, does it?
-Exactly.
This might actually
be interpreted as
what sidney allard
might build today,
if he was building cars.
Let's look at
the superformance coupe.
This of course is one
of the most iconic forms
of an american race car,
the great shelby daytona coupe.
With it, carroll shelby won
the 1965 fia gt
manufacturers championship.
Right. I remember this
was quite controversial,
this kamm tail,
this cut-off tail,
because people thought,
"it looks ridiculous,
and it can't be
more aerodynamic
than a sweeping--
like, an arrow-type tail,"
and of course,
it was much more efficient.
[donald]
exactly.
This shape was designed
to compete with and beat
the ferrari gtos.
This particular car has got a
roush-prepared 427 engine in it,
so it can really move.
These cars weigh almost nothing.
It is a tube frame that was used
for the daytona coupes,
but it is not a replica,
exactly, of the frame
-of the daytona coupe.
-Well, let's move on
to our third car.
[donald]
something
which is very different
from our first two.
This is, obviously, a porsche.
It's a 1972 911
which has been converted
to become a tribute
of a 1973 911 rsr.
Now, the rsr, of course,
was the car with which
porsche began to dominate
gt car racing in the 1970s,
and some of the things
that set this apart
from a lot of other rsr clones
you might see out there
is the fact that
the body is steel,
just as the factory originals
were.
It's running on original
rsr wheels, the fuchs wheels.
It has a 2.8-liter engine
to rsr racing specifications,
so everything the factory did
to build an rsr in period
has been done
with this particular car.
[jay]
I think an expert
would be hard pressed
to tell this from an original,
wouldn't you say?
Just by the chassis number.
Yeah, just by chassis number,
it's the only thing, so.
Now we'll find out
which of these three cars
has appreciated the most
in the last five years.
[jay]
in terms of my generation's
sort of dying out,
we remember that,
but we don't remember this
at all,
so that would be
second most valuable,
this would be third.
Number one would be this one,
because everyone knows
porsche parts are expensive.
Whatever this cost to build
a few years ago,
it's gonna cost you even more
now to build,
so this has appreciated
the most,
uh, that,
possibly second most,
and this, third.
-I'll take a chance on that.
-Okay.
It's a reasonable chance.
[jay]
coming up:
Donald will divulge
the dollar amounts,
and then...
[paul]
don't touch my swan.
[jay]
...We're talkin' johnny
with paul reiser.
[paul]
he was so masterful
at helping you.
He loved comics and he loved
for you to do well.
[jay]
and we're back
with donald osborne.
[chiming twinkle]
now we'll find out
which of these three cars
has appreciated the most
in the last five years.
Is it the 2008
superformance daytona coupe,
the 1972 porsche 911 rsr,
or the 2019 allard j2x mkiii?
Five years ago,
a superformance daytona coupe
might have cost $101,000.
Today, that car would be
$138,000.
Five years ago, an allard
might have been $160,000,
and today,
it'd be $190,000.
-Pretty close.
-And finally, the porsche.
Five years ago,
this might have been $107,000;
today, $380,000,
so obviously,
the winner of
the appreciation sweepstakes
-is the porsche.
-Essentially,
what you're saying is,
I was correct.
[donald]
it's a tribute
to the genius of jay leno.
No, it's a replica.
[laughs]
[jay]
back in the day,
there was really only one way
to prove you'd made it
as a comedian:
Getting on the tonight show
with johnny carson.
He was an amazing host,
and he loved giving
new comedians a chance,
including a good friend of mine.
I had no idea you were
such a tonight show historian.
[paul]
oh, ask me anything,
I know it all.
Up till when you got on there.
[jay]
yeah, that's pretty much...
[paul]
I was watching merv griffin
from then on.
[jay]
that's pretty much
when you lost interest.
Paul reiser is a great comedian,
actor, writer, and producer,
and the list goes on and on.
He's starred in hit movies
and tv shows for decades,
but I have him here today
'cause he helped create
and produce a series
about the tonight show
called there's...Johnny!
So it stands to reason
he should be excited
about the cars
I have waiting for us.
Well, I'll tell you what.
I know you're not
a real car guy, okay?
But I got a couple of cars
I think will be
of real interest to you.
-I would like to see.
-Okay, come on.
[upbeat music]
-this is something.
-This is a '39 chrysler royal.
From 1937 to 1950,
the royal was the workhorse
of the chrysler fleet.
With a 4.1-liter
it was a reliable
and affordable car
that still had
some nice styling.
This is what
a sensible person would buy.
And the sensible person
who bought this
was johnny carson's dad.
[paul]
oh, that's great.
This was on that show!
[jay]
yeah. Johnny did a special
called johnny goes home.
-I do remember it.
-Yeah.
It's lovely countryside,
isn't it?
[jay]
he talked about
his dad having a '39 chrysler,
and they showed clips
of johnny polishing the car
when he was 12,
and they had him when he was 18
going to his prom,
and nbc decided,
"let's find a '39 chrysler
and see if we can
recreate that for johnny."
so they go to johnny's
hometown in nebraska,
and of course, growing up
in a small town, I know this,
nothing really leaves the area.
-It was still there.
-It was actually
-johnny's dad's car.
-It was it!
[jay]
it was the actual car.
So they presented it to johnny
as a gift.
And johnny kept it a while,
he wasn't a real car guy,
and what I didn't know was,
johnny had left a letter that,
after his passing,
to give the car to me.
-Wow.
-And I was really
touched by that,
so I've taken care of it
and kept it running,
-and keep it up.
-And a lovely back seat area.
[jay]
the back seat is where johnny,
I believe,
-lost his virginity.
-No, that can't be true,
don't tell me that.
-And this car...
-This one, I recognize.
[jay]
well, this is an exact replica
of johnny's last car.
In 1992, chevrolet gave
the corvette a new powertrain
that kicked up its performance
and put out
an additional 50 horsepower.
In fact, it caused sales
of the zr1 to plummet,
because the new corvette
was pretty darn close
in performance,
but cost about $30,000 less.
[bright music]
but you know, it just showed
what a midwestern guy
johnny was,
'cause johnny coulda had
a ferrari or a lamborghini
or a rolls-royce,
but he drove
the best american thing
he could geto at the time,
which was the corvette.
It was never not thrilling
to pull into the lot,
and I was gonna be
on the show with him,
but still, seeing his car,
I went, "wow! Johnny's here."
[jay]
you wanna take these for a ride?
I abso--let's do it!
[swanky c*ck jazz music]
oh, it's a lovely day
for a drive.
so, jay, how does that thing
actually drive?
Is it fun to drive?
Yeah, I mean,
it drives like an old car,
but I remember
when cars drove like this,
so it's nostalgic for me.
But you know,
the fascinating thing is,
this is the actual car
johnny learned how to drive on.
[paul]
that's wild.
That's a real piece of history.
Yeah, it really was
the family car.
[paul]
and the car I'm driving,
we don't know who was here.
No, I don't know,
that's why I let you drive it.
[paul laughs]
-that's fair.
-So, tell me, I mean,
what year was
your first tonight show?
My first tonight show
was April 1982.
I'm still a bit nervous,
I'll be honest with you,
and maybe you are, too.
Let me ask you, honestly,
how many of you would
really rather skip this
and go for coffee?
Anybody at all?
So that was the only time
that I did stand-up.
I did, whatever, seven minutes.
Didn't sit down on the couch,
and then, from then on,
I would sit on the couch
and do material with johnny,
and he was so masterful
at helping you.
He loved comics, and he loved
for you to do well, you know?
He just...
I was actually amazed.
I was on
more than I remembered.
I was on, like, a lot.
-Right, right.
-It was a nice little run there.
That was the only thing
that our parents' generation
could appreciate
about our careers,
is if we got on
the tonight show.
Because up till then,
you know,
"what does your son do?"
"he goes to clubs,
and he stays up
till two in the morning,
and he drinks
and he meets girls.
And he makes no money."
so, when you're on johnny,
that was the real validation.
And I remember my father,
I said--and I did pretty well.
I think it was pretty good.
And my father said, "yeah, well,
johnny seemed to like you,"
which, sort of in there was,
"I didn't care for it,
but it doesn't matter.
Johnny--you're in."
what was
your first tonight show, jay?
My first tonight show was
March 2nd, 1977.
Okay, that exactly clocks,
'cause I remember watching it
in college,
and you had
a crazy-a*s suit.
It was a green suit
I had gotten free--
I had been in a movie called
silver bears,
with michael caine,
and I got this suit for free.
I didn't have any money,
so I wore that.
[paul chortles]
and back in those days,
all the comics--you know,
people think it's all this
cutthroat, horrible business.
But comics always supported
other comics.
When I did my first
tonight show,
if you listen,
you can hear, "huh-h*!"
you hear robin williams
laughing in the audience.
It was very supportive,
because, with actors,
if there's a role,
one of you is gonna get it
and everybody else
is not gonna get it.
But with comedy,
jay'll do it today,
you'll do it tomorrow,
somebody else is--
you know?
So it was never really
cutthroat.
[jay]
what was
your first car you bought
once you kinda made it
a little bit?
My first car,
interestingly enough,
I went to buy it
with you and--
-that's right!
-My peugeot,
I bought a peugeot.
That's how much
we all hung out.
It was you and larry miller
and seinfeld,
and we walked into--
and I don't know where or why
I thought of peugeot.
It was kind of continental.
You liked the peugeot because
columbo drove a peugeot.
[paul]
is that why?
But he drove a really old--
columbo, that could be.
[jay]
and you thought,
"well, if columbo had one,
it's gotta be good."
so jerry and I convinced you
to buy the peugeot,
and then, the next year,
peugeot left
-the american market.
-That's right, I broke 'em,
I broke 'em.
[jay]
paul has always been
a really good friend,
and it's nice that we've
stayed close over the years.
Although some people think
we were really close.
[laughs]
you know, paul, remember--
I'm just on the internet
one day,
and this picture comes up
and it says,
"jay leno lives quietly
with his partner of 40 years,"
and a picture
of you and I together!
I can't imagine
why people would think that.
I mean, sure, we get together
every Sunday afternoon
and do what we do, but...
-How is that anybody's business?
-Exa--and who would know that?
Yes, exactly.
[mellow music]
[quacking]
so wonderful
spending time together.
You know, we don't do this
often enough, jay.
[jay]
we do it too often,
as far as I'm concerned.
We do it too often.
We gotta get a job.
[jay]
what?
Friends can go
for swan rides in the park.
[paul]
I should be going backwards--
here I go.
Don't touch my swan.
[enchanted-chime
musical flourish]
[jay]
coming up:
I take a trip
back to the '70s
with actor wilmer valderrama.
[wilmer]
that's when I knew
everything was possible,
and all I had to do
was never get fired.
[jay]
for more cool cars,
go to jaylenosgarage.Cnbc.Com.
You know, a lot of exciting
things happened in the '70s,
especially for this dude.
Free love, wild outfits,
big hair.
But for the automotive industry,
oh boy.
It was a decade of new laws
and big restrictions,
and as a result,
most of the cars were
pretty unimpressive.
and, uh, well...
Look at the car I'm driving.
This is a pontiac sport coupe.
I don't know
what's sporty about it;
it's enormous.
You can tell by the color
and by the seatbelt here,
this was bought new
by kermit the frog.
I believe he was
the original owner of this car.
Although I make fun
of this green,
I actually kinda like it.
At least this kinda pops,
it stands out.
So, you know, maybe the '70s
weren't so bad after all.
The reason I borrowed
kermit's car today
is that I'm meeting up
with someone
who's linked to the '70s,
even though he wasn't born
until 1980.
[horn blares twice]
-hey!
-Hey, how are you, my friend?
[wilmer]
look at you, man.
-Look at this car, man.
-Like a '70s weekend.
Wilmer valderrama got
his big break playing fez,
the charmingly clueless
exchange student
on that '70s show.
He's very unpredictable,
so he's a nice guy,
I like him.
[jay]
these days, he's busy
portraying agent nick torres
on ncis,
and having
a really, really nice house.
-Beautiful place.
-Thank you, thank you very much.
I got this house from
chuck norris back in 2005.
[jay]
oh, chuck norris! Wow!
Now, are there a lot of dents
in the walls from him--
-yeah, yeah, lotta holes.
-Lotta holes.
-Lotta holes in the walls.
-That'll get the price down.
Yeah, pretty sure--
I low-balled because of that,
I had a lot of fixing to do.
[jay]
now, this looks like
the one from the show,
but I imagine it's not, is it?
[wilmer]
no, you imagined wrong,
'cause it is.
It is the one from
that '70s show, yeah.
This is the car we did the
opening sequence on the show,
where we're all driving,
you know,
and the theme song is playing.
They had told us, you know,
this is gonna be
-our last season.
-Right.
[wilmer]
and something went in my brain,
and, like, okay,
so if this is over for good,
I gotta take something home,
you know?
-Right, sure.
-I went straight to
the vista cruiser,
and I went to the props
department and I said,
"hey, listen.
I got 500 bucks.
-It doesn't run, so..."
-I just like the fact that
you're a big star,
you're on a hit tv show,
and you convinced these guys
you only had $500.
I mean, that's my favorite part.
[wilmer]
no, but I did say--
I did say, "hey, listen, guys.
I don't know when
my next show is, okay?
Listen, you gotta
help me out here, you know?"
[jay]
do you know what happened to--
somebody punched it
in the nose. What happened?
[sharp thud]
[wilmer]
so what you see is
what we had on the show.
I wanted to keep it as close
to the show as it was.
All these little dings,
the nose dent.
There's still glue from the tape
from the microphones,
there's still velcros where
they had the lights hanging.
So I wanted to keep that,
because every time
I get in the car,
I get a little emotional
about it,
because I was about to turn 18
when I booked that '70s show,
and I think,
like any immigrant family,
we came here to work,
and getting that '70s show
was exactly
what every generation
has experienced in america.
That's when I knew
everything was possible,
and all I had to do
was never get fired.
That is the american dream,
that's what I love about it.
Hey, what have we got
over there,
-is that a mustang?
-Yeah, so I have a '67 mustang.
[jay]
let's check it out.
[wilmer]
we gave it a lot of love
so it was not just
sustainable,
but it would drive
like a daily car.
So I could drive this
and I can really, really
beat it up.
It's loud, it's fast,
and it handles really good.
A 289 with a c4 automatic,
very nice!
Well, the one that's
not at all like the other two
is that one over there.
-Yeah.
-Let's take a look.
[wilmer]
so this is a '51 merc.
It was my childhood dream car.
I saw the movie cobra.
-Oh, the stallone movie!
-Yes.
And I said to my dad, "one day,
I'm gonna have that car."
well, very cool, very nice.
Come on,
we'll take it for a ride.
-You gonna take the mustang?
-Yeah, let's do it.
[jay]
and I'll take the--
kermit the frog over there,
and we'll do it.
-Come on, let's go.
-Let's go.
[upbeat rock music]
[jay]
you've had a lot of cars.
I remember seeing you
in a lamborghini, a bentley,
and a bunch of cars, right?
Jay, I was very obnoxious
when I was younger.
You know, I don't know, man,
I never had any of this stuff.
I never thought
any of this was possible,
so when I was a kid,
I had that new-money mentality.
[jay]
and you've done incredible.
I mean, you've been working
since you were 17, right?
You did a bunch of movies.
-Now you're on ncis.
-Yeah, where I'm going
into my sixth year.
And now, I mean, I'm producing
all kinds of amazing things,
and tell stories
that I've always wanted to tell.
Now, what are the stories?
Gimme a story
you always wanted to tell.
[wilmer]
there's a lot of contributions
from communities of color
that in history
and in our history books
are never really reflected.
A lot of cultures
never grew up with thinking
that, oh, like,
my culture was also heroic.
-Yeah.
-I have a dream, jay,
that at one point,
I will play zorro.
[jay]
oh, I love zorro!
I wish they would
bring it back.
You remember pedro
and bernardo?
-Remember bernardo?
-Yes, yes!
What was the sergeant's name?
-Sgt. Garcia!
-Garcia, yes!
[jay]
garcia, yes, yes.
[wilmer]
he was like,
"well, señor de la vega..."
you know,
you should bring back zorro.
You'd be a good zorro.
Listen, man, you will be
one of my first phone calls
when that happens.
[jay]
I could play sgt. Garcia.
I'd be italian--
I'd be sgt. Angelino.
[laughs]
[wilmer]
you know what?
You got a deal right there.
You have a deal right there.
[laughter]
[jay]
still to come:
What does a terrifying fish
have to do with a heart?
[nancy]
oh my god!
[jay]
you'll find out next.
You ever play
the whisky au go go down here?
We sure did play
the whisky au go go.
We've had a lot of musicians
on this show.Ock music]]
[weird al]
you're always
the life of any party.
[jay]
some really like to indulge
in the rock and roll lifestyle.
-Oh, man.
-...Being placed under arrest.
[jay]
yeah, I'm talking about you!
-Jay!
-If you were rockin' the '70s...
-I found out I'm good at it.
-...You were probably
having a good time
on the sunset strip.
that's where everybody hung out.
I mean, you never knew
who you'd run into there.
Right down the street,
I come around the corner,
I see a red countach,
and I went over to look at it,
and it belonged
to rod stewart.
And I looked in, I saw a bunch
of crumpled-up potato chip bags.
I thought, "man, that's--
that's the hollywood life.
Driving a lamborghini
and eating potato chips.
And then just throwing
the crumpled-up thing
on the floor of the car.
What's cooler than that?"
well, I'm still eating
potato chips.
[soulful rock music]
and I'm still running
into musicians
on the sunset strip.
In fact, this 1970
plymouth 'cuda I'm driving
with the sport package,
and four-speed transmission,
has a little something to do
with my next guest,
and a tribute
to one of the best rock songs
of the 1970s.
[door slams]
-hi, nance, how you doing?
-Hey, jay, how you doing?
[jay]
good to see you again!
Nancy wilson is
rock and roll royalty.
Half of the band heart,
with big sis ann wilson,
they've been cranking out
hit after hit since the 1970s.
As one of the best
rock guitarists of all time,
it's only fitting that
she's now designed her own.
Hey, is this the guitar?
[nancy]
this is the one
I was talking about.
-Yeah, yeah; tell us about it.
-Well, this is kind of like
a vintage-style epiphone
with a body shape
that I designed myself,
that kind of imitates
the silhouette of a woman.
You know, I'm glad you said it
and not me,
because "leno, with his sexist
attitude toward guitars..."
no, I think that's--
that's when you have to be--
I'm so glad you said that
and not me,
'cause I've gotta say,
it's very curvaceous,
-it looks like a woman.
-It's curvaceous.
It's curvaceous.
You know,
easy for a woman to play.
-No, it's great.
-A lot of women--
more women now are picking up
guitar playing than men are,
so it's about time, right?
I mean, when I was a kid,
most women guitar players
were not in rock bands.
You guys were the first,
and still the greatest,
female rock band.
We're--well, thank you.
[jay]
well, I hate saying it,
because I mean,
I think you're just
a great rock band.
The fact that it's female--
-we just came to play.
-Yeah.
It's really cool,
'cause we can still do it.
We lived to tell,
and we can still do it.
I brought a car today, I think--
I tried to find something
that had some significance
to you and the band, and
I think I made a good choice.
You wanna go take a look?
I'll show you.
Come on, come on.
-Oh my god.
-Now...
-Oh my god!
-Have you figured out
the significance
of this car?
-That is a barracuda, my friend.
-That's right, there you go.
-That is a "barracuda" car.
-That's right, so we thought,
there's no "alone" car,
there's no...
-"these dreams" car.
-No "dreams" car.
So "barracuda" was
as close as we could get.
[nancy]
Suh-weeet!
-That is a sweet ride.
-Now, yours is very nice.
-Here's mine over here.
-This is actually your car,
-isn't it?
-This is my car!
[jay]
this is nancy's 1951 ford
coupe convertible restomod.
Sure, on the inside, it's got
all-new power steering,
power brakes,
even power windows,
but on the outside,
it's still 100 percent classic.
[vintage rock music]
[nancy]
it's a beautiful ride.
And it's a tank.
-So you wanna go for a spin?
-Let's go for a spin!
[jay]
and we'll talk car-to-car.
[bright rock music]
what song was
the first mega hit?
Was it "barracuda"?
"crazy on you" was
one of the first big ones.
-Yeah, yeah.
-And "barracuda" came
the next album later.
[jay]
and it seems like
the career has just been
the perfect sort of career,
and getting into
the rock & roll hall of fame,
-that's gotta be pretty cool.
-That was really cool.
I mean, going through all kinds
of hell and high water,
being acknowledged
for the work, you know,
is really important.
[jay]
we're heading up
to laurel canyon.
All the great musicians
lived near or around here,
and if you hung around
sunset boulevard
or you went down to the strip,
you'd probably bump
into somebody.
Where's all the maps
to stars' homes, anyway?
You know, I haven't seen those
in a while, since covid.
[chuckling]
yeah.
[jay]
who needs a map when you got me?
Hi, I'm jay leno, and I'll be
your tour guide today, and yes,
tips are accepted.
Coming up on the right is,
remember the godfather house
where the head got
cut off the horse?
Oh my god!
[jay]
this used to be
the rock & roll hotel.
You ever play
the whisky au go go down here?
We sure did play
the whisky au go go.
[jay]
we'll go by
the beach boys' house
that I slept in,
I'll show you.
-Yo!
-Yo!
-Jay leno!
-Hi, guys!
[jay laughs]
well, nancy, I want to thank you
for coming on.
You're a nice person...
-Aww...
-...And just a great artist
and a great musician,
and you got a classic car,
so, to me...
-[nancy laughs]
-...You're perfect.
Oh, jay, thank you so much,
I'm really happy to do this.
Feels like a Sunday drive,
doesn't it?
It is.
It's more like a Thursday drive,
but close enough.
[nancy, laughing]
yeah!
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06x12 - Tribute
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Leno does car and motorcycle reviews on classic cars, super cars like the McLaren P1, restored cars, vintage and sports cars.
Leno does car and motorcycle reviews on classic cars, super cars like the McLaren P1, restored cars, vintage and sports cars.