Look at Jay Leno telling me my ugly car could be a future classic… Once I’m dead

Jay Leno is a big fan of “Noble Failures” – cars that were, in a way too good for their time, and just burned out. The BMW i3 is a perfect example of such a car. When I told Jay about my daily driver in a one-on-one conversation, I assumed he would be a fan. I was wrong – well, sort of.

While I was researching in advance of my interview with Jay Leno last week (and no, I won’t just casually mention that I got to interview Jay Leno), I was completely blown away and can’t wait to share more with you tell (it) My fiancée Elise happened upon an amazing article from the Beverly Hills Courier. Author Lisa Friedman Bloch spent the day with automotive legends Jay Leno and Bruce Meyer, and in her brilliant, many-thousand-word article, I noticed the following:

While Bruce is attracted to the aesthetic component of automobiles, Jay is attracted to the cars that he finds different, interesting, or ahead of their time. He is particularly interested in “noble failures.”

Autopian co-founder Jason Torchinsky and I have been talking about this category of cars for years, although we call them “lovable losers.” These are good, often well-engineered vehicles, but – for one reason or another (often design or cost) – they have failed spectacularly in the market. The Beverly Hills Courier article shares Leno’s definition of a “noble failure”:

“Like the Duesenberg, it was a much better car than it had to be,” says Jay.

It was manufactured during the Depression and was an overly expensive, over-engineered and over-powered car for its time. The company was owned by EL Cord, another Beverly Hills resident. Jay has many Duesenbergs; Bruce owns one too. Both enthusiasts have received several awards for their beautiful cars.

Jay explains, “That’s the problem with a lot of these things. Some people fail to meet any standard. And some people do it so well and are perfectionists that they never put it into production.” He gives the Mustang as an example: “It’s a sexy body on a Ford Falcon. For the first 25 years there was no need for independent suspension because no one cared. Just make it look sharp. It’s kind of cool. It’s affordable. It was a huge success.”

Jay is a world expert on automotive history in every sense of the word, and that was clear during our conversation. In fact, there are so many examples throughout history that support the notion that KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) is often the best way forward and that automotive design often gets overcomplicated is not.

My BMW i3 is probably the ultimate example of a modern noble failure. It was a state-of-the-art carbon fiber electric car with a suicide door and range extension, a plastic body and an interior made of olive leather and a sustainable material called “Kenaf”. The i3 was by all accounts a smash hit, and yet it was unquestionably a total failure in the US, selling in modest numbers and only thanks to significant price discounts.

Needless to say, as a car enthusiast who loves Noble Failures, I’m obsessed:

I’m still obsessed with this car. pic.twitter.com/1rSYnhEtDr

— David Tracy (@davidntracy) October 12, 2024

But I’m in the minority here, as is the case with many fans of “noble failure.” That’s why I wasn’t surprised that when I told him what I was driving, Jay replied:

“Uh, uh, ohhhhh,” he said, almost grimacing and putting his hand to his mouth to playfully hide his feigned disgust:

Jay isn’t a big fan of my beloved i3. And I completely understand it; In many people’s eyes it is disgusting. Jay told me that he doesn’t understand BMW’s general styling trends lately. “It looks a little… I have to admit I’m a little confused about BMW’s design… Now they’ve almost got it… It looks like a Hupmobile sucking on a lemon… I don’t get it!”

Jay isn’t a fan of wooden dashboards either – he prefers to see mechanical gauges, which I completely agree with. Jay loves looking at the mechanical intricacies of automobiles, and my BMW definitely doesn’t allow that unless you peer under the rear floor or at the carbon fiber in the door jambs.

“Your car…that was probably more expensive than it needed to be too,” Jay asked, showing me that he really is a car enthusiast who loves learning about all kinds of cars, whether they’re his thing or not. I answered with a yes; In the eyes of Americans, the car was incredibly overpriced. Could you argue that a car is progressive? should be expensive? Sure, but American buyers don’t spend a lot of money on small luxury cars. They never did that.

Jay agrees. “For American manufacturers, it costs as much money to produce a small car as it does to produce a large car. It’s a bit like a TV show; Why do a half-hour show when you can do one for a few dollars more? hour show and achieve twice as much sales.”

Jay ended our little conversation about my i3 and told me that while he thinks the car is ugly, he finds it interesting. “No, it’s interesting and it’ll probably be a collector’s car, but unfortunately you’ll be long dead…sad!”

Well, there is my plan to retire by selling my “holy grail” BMW i3!

Anyway, that was just a small part of my conversation with Jay Leno, for which I am eternally grateful. I was there to promote “Jay Leno’s Garage” on RIG TV. Here are some bullet points to share with you, dear readers, about the new Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television (FAST) channel:

• “Jay Leno’s Garage“will continue to stream now RIG TVs.

• Stream new episodes weekly from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. time slots.

• This is the first time for a FAST channel to have YouTube content reformatted for television.

• RIG TV originally launched in April Roku.

• In addition to Roku, new episodes of “Jay Leno’s Garage” will be available Freevee, Fubo, Google TV, Sling TV And Plex To RIG TVs.

• RIG TV is from Fremantle Original productions Studio, the creators of “Jay Leno’s Garage,” as well as shows like “Deadliest Catch” and “Bering Sea Gold,” which showcase the world’s toughest jobs.

• “Jay Leno’s Garage” enjoyed seven successful seasons on television, captivating audiences with its in-depth exploration of all things cars, automotive culture and cutting-edge technology. The show eventually found a new life on YouTube, where it became a favorite among car enthusiasts. Now these YouTube episodes are coming to television for the first time.

It turns out you can watch shows just like you used to, except on your computer. Here is the ROKU link.

Anyway, more little details from my conversation with Jay are coming soon. It was epic.