Jay Leno: Car Guy?
A real “Car Guy “would not mislead us on the obvious design flaws and performance failures of electric vehicles. And he definitely would not support a ban on gas-powered cars.
Photo: CNBC
It’s really too bad about Jay Leno. I met him in 1996 on the set of the Tonight Show and I can personally attest that he is very likeable, approachable, and downright funny.
He has an extreme knowledge of cars, and he owns nearly 200 vintage and rare vehicles in converted hangers at Hollywood-Burbank airport. All of these vehicles are licensed and in running condition, and he tools around town in them regularly. There is no question that Jay loves his cars.
His CNBC show, Jay Leno’s Garage, has been a joy for me to watch over the past five-or-so years. Which is why it is puzzling and sad to see him recently showcasing electric vehicles (EVs) as “America’s future.”
“Like it or not, we’re in the middle of an electric car revolution,” Jay’s voice-over gushes. A “revolution” unlike those in the past, which arose from the free market and not by government decree.
Think how “revolutionary” Henry Ford was in delivering the Model T over a century ago. People purchased Model Ts because they were better than what they replaced, they were affordable, and they were more practical. Nobody had to buy them “like it or not.”
Jay continues his voice-over. “The U.S. has recently set a goal for 50 percent of all (new) cars to be electric by 2030.” Poor Jay doesn’t realize he just announced that gas-powered vehicles are in the process of being banned by the U.S. government. And if he did realize that, is he really a “Car Guy” after all?
Jay did not even question the reasoning behind banning the sale of gas-powered cars, nor did he ask how people were going to afford a 30 percent premium for an electric drivetrain over the much less expensive drivetrain and fuel system we have reliably enjoyed for over 100 years.
Jay did not discuss the real issue of EV range anxiety, an important topic he also avoided when he drove the electrified 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning with Ford president Jim Farley. Okay, we all know Jay is a polite person who has a way with being diplomatic, but I find it a bit troubling when the purported “Car Guy” doesn’t ask questions on EV technology that lay heavy on everyone’s mind. Such as “How can you address the fact that your electric truck can’t tow anything heavier than 3,000 pounds without draining the battery in less than 100 miles?” I mean, a real “Car Guy” would be curious about that.
It's also telling that the recent reports of spontaneous combustion by EVs in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian caused by saltwater battery contamination does not seem to interest Jay. He instead goes along with the narrative that gas-powered cars pose some type of danger to people but ignores the real danger of exploding EV batteries.
What about repeating the absolute lie of “zero carbon emissions?” Jay knows a lot about cars, which means he knows about utility plant energy generation needed to charge those EVs. Plenty of carbon emissions there. And he probably knows about the environmentally disastrous mines and leach fields where the EV batteries’ lithium is extracted. Not exactly the “earth-friendly” solution to replacing gas-powered cars, right Jay?
A real “Car Guy” would challenge the premise of needing to replace gas-powered cars; “What is the problem with them? We are not running out of oil, and modern cars are not killing the planet with pollution. What is the problem you’re trying to solve that requires banning gas-powered cars? How is it that EVs are the solution when the manufacturing process creates more pollution and charging them requires energy generation mostly dependent on fossil fuels?”
Jay could make a few good-faith use cases for EVs, such as commercial last-mile delivery, postal trucks, or shuttles at the airport. And if people want to own an EV for themselves, they’ll do so based on their own cost-benefit calculation. But exaggerating the performance and clean air benefits of EVs when he knows better, then telling us we’ll be driving them in the future whether we “like it or not,” Jay is kind of revealing his inner desire to make others transition to EVs while he drives his collection of gas-powered beauties to his heart’s content.
Jay Leno is being used to here to propagandize the adoption of a car technology that is underdeveloped, underperforming, and unsafe to drive. Does that sound like something a real “Car Guy” would do?