Jay Leno talks Cars on 5th, his massive car collection: 'Obsession's a good word.'
Charles RunnellsIf you see a lantern-jawed dude wearing a hat and fake mustache at next week’s Cars on 5th, don’t get your hopes up: It’s not Jay Leno.
He promises.
The former The Tonight Show host and famous car collector has heard the stories about him going undercover at car shows. But they’re simply not true, he says.
“I don’t go in disguise,” he says. “I just go as myself.”
He’ll be doing exactly that next week at the Naples Automotive Experience, the 21st annual event that includes the popular car show Cars on 5th on Fifth Avenue South in downtown Naples.
No fake mustaches: People can see Leno’s famous, smooth-shaved face performing stand-up comedy at Hertz Arena (Thursday, Feb. 6), attending a sold-out display of curated cars (Friday, Feb. 7) and likely visiting the main event, Cars on 5th (Saturday, Feb. 8).
Leno — who also hosted the CNBC TV series "Jay Leno's Garage" from 2015 to 2022 — says he loves going to car shows all over the United States, and he’s always happy to chat with people about his favorite subject: cars and motorcycles.
“I enjoy it,” he says. “I make friends all around the country. … You just meet so many characters. This one guy, he’s a Hemi guy, you know. He can tell you what day of the week your car was built on, who was working on the line that day. … He’s a Hemi guy, but all he knows is Hemis.
“To me, I like anything that rolls, explodes and makes noise. I like any kind of vehicle. But you always get these one-make guys. It makes me laugh. They’re just characters!”
Just don’t expect an entire set of car jokes when he performs at Hertz Arena. If he did that, he says, he’d probably bomb with half the audience.
“Believe me, the wives of these guys are bored to death as it is,” he says. “If you start doing car material (laughs). … I’m not going to be talking about, ‘Well, you know how the carburetor spring on a — you can’t really do that.”
Leno had a lot more on his mind during his interview with The News-Press/Naples Daily News. Here’s what he had to say about Cars on 5th, his massive car collection and being more famous now as a “car guy” than host of “The Tonight Show.”
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Jay Leno's return to Naples
The News-Press/Naples Daily News: Have you ever been to Cars on 5th or the Naples Automotive Experience?
Jay Leno: I’ve been to Naples many times, and I’ve done some shows down around there. … I get confused. There are so many cars shows in Florida. I may have been there (to Cars on 5th), but I’m not quite sure.
Do you go to a lot of car shows every year? I imagine you do.
Well, it’s what I like to do, you know. … This guy will come up and say, “Oh, I got a Ford Falcon,” and I go, ‘Me, too!’ and we start talking about Falcons and 289s and 260s. And it’s fun. I enjoy it. I enjoy meeting with the car public.
I love that phrase: “The car public”! When you meet the car public, what is that like for you? What do you talk about?
Well, inevitably, people are always standing next to their car: “Hey, is this yours? How long you had it? What have you done to it?”
There’s always something to talk about, you know. That’s not a problem. Or people ask me about a car I have or some car we road-tested. It’s not like we’re stuck for words.
Jay Leno's massive car collection
Are you looking for anything at Cars on 5th? You’re a huge collector. Last I read, you had 181 cars.
About 208 on the road now.
Oh wow! And how many bikes do you have?
163, I think.
Are you always looking for more? Are you going to these car shows hoping to buy something?
No, I don’t go looking to buy things!
So are most of your purchases happy accidents?
Well, you buy the story. That’s the fun part. I remember I was at a show a long time ago. The guy had a green ’66 Coronet Hemi, dog-dish hubcaps, and it just had nice posture. It just sat right. And I thought, “Well, that’s a nice-looking car!” Black interior. I bought that one.
You buy the story. Somebody bought the car new and they kept it through high school or whatever it might be. I enjoy it. No, I’m not looking for anything. I’m not constantly searching for cars. They just kind of fall into your lap occasionally.
Jay Leno, that famous 'car guy'
At this point in your career, you’re probably more famous as a car collector than the host of The Tonight Show. People think “Jay Leno,” and they think “car guy.”
Yeah, that’s what it is! And it’s fine.
I mean, I haven’t been on The Tonight Show for 10 years. So if you’re 17 or 18, you wouldn’t know who I was. … But it’s fine. People know me as a car collector, you know, or a guy who has accidents.
(Laughs) Are you cool with that? Also, as a famous car collector, you’re kind of an advocate for cars.
Well, you try to be! You try to be responsible. You try not to do stupid things. You don’t want to be the guy who screws it up for everybody else, you know.
But you know, I enjoy it! I enjoy when people come up and have a car question. If I can answer it, it makes me feel good.
Where did your love of cars come from?
Well, I think guys in my age group, you’re just expected to know certain things. How to change a tire, stuff like that. Plus I grew up in a rural area, New England, and there were always broken snowmobiles and different things like that that needed to be fixed. It’s just something you enjoy doing.
When I was a kid, you could buy a car for $25 — or $50 — and it wouldn’t take much to get it running. I remember there were always used cars around in a field. The battery’s taken out and the tires are gone, but OK. So it’s just kind of fun.
Call it an obsession
When did that turn into a love of cars for you — or an obsession? I don’t know if “obsession” is the right word…
I think “obsession’s” a good word! I am a little bit that way.
How old were you when it turned into an obsession?
Probably 12, 13, 14. You get all the car magazines. You go to the dealership. You get all the — I still have the car brochures I got when I was 13. I’ve got them somewhere. The Corvette Stingray and all those kinds of things.
And when you come from a small town, you didn’t see many cool cars, you know. So coming to California was like, “Oh my God!” I mean, when you grow up in Andover, Massachusetts, you never saw a Ferrari. Or a Lamborghini. Or anything.
It was the kind of town that, if something drove through town, everybody would be like, “You should’ve been at McDonald’s last night. A Corvette went through!”
All these cars that you have, how many of them do you actually drive?
I drive’em all. I use ‘em all. I mean, they all run and they’re all licensed and registered.
Probably everything gets taken out once a month or so.
If you had to pick, what’s your absolute favorite out of your collection?
Well, luckily, it’s not Communist China. So I don’t have to pick just one (laughs).
Tickets and more about the Naples Automotive Experience
The 21st-annual Naples Automotive Experience takes place Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 6-8, at various Southwest Florida locations. It's organized by the Naples chapter of the Ferrari Club of America.
The Naples Automotive Experience raises money every year for St. Matthew's House, an organization that fights hunger in Southwest Florida. The 2024 event raised nearly $1.7 million for the charity, according to a 2024 news release.
Here are the biggest events happening at the 2025 Naples Automotive Experience:
- Jay Leno Charity Comedy Night: The former The Tonight Show host performs stand-up comedy. 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, at Hertz Arena in Estero. $49-$250. VIP tickets are sold out.
- Forever Fabulous Women: A Styling Experience: Emmy Award-winning Hollywood stylist Brenda Cooper hosts a fashion event. The 1960s' British-themed event includes Cooper sharing her fashion and styling secrets, a fashion show featuring clothing from the St. Matthew’s House Thrift Store fashion department, an English-style tea, a silent auction and a book signing with Cooper. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, at The Vineyards Country Club in Naples. $500 tickets include a copy of Brenda’s book, "The Silhouette Solution," and book signing.
- The Ultimate Garage Tour with Jay Leno: The Friday, Feb. 7 event is sold out.
- The Naples Automotive Experience Jetport Reception: 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, at Naples Airport’s Northern Jet Hangar. The event includes auctions, food, fine wines, music and a showcase of some of the world’s most exotic cars, jets, planes and helicopters. $500.
- Cars on 5th: More than 750 cars will be displayed at the annual car show, including 170 Ferraris, Ford GTs through the years and the Porsche 356. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, on Fifth Avenue South in downtown Naples. Tickets are $40 and will be sold on event day at the gate and at the Collier County Government Center ($10 for ages 4-15, free for younger). VIP tickets — including a tented "VIP Scuderia" area and an exclusive display of highest-value Ferraris and exotic cars — are $200-$250.
— For tickets and more information, visit naplesautomotiveexperience.org.
Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. To reach him, call 239-335-0368 or[email protected]. Follow or message him on social media: Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7) and Instagram (@crunnells1).