Story: Eirik Knutzen  
Photography: Shawn Mortensen

M lifestyle: Do you have favorites in your collection?
Jay Leno: Steam-powered cars. Some of them are very rare. I like them for technical and historical reasons.  

M lifestyle: Are you emotionally attached to any particular Stanley Steamer?
Jay Leno: I’d have to say my 1906 Stanley. I was driving it and was stopped by a cop for going over 75 mph on the freeway. It was the oldest car ever pulled over in California and the policeman was so impressed that he let me go. 

M lifestyle: Does NBC put pressure on you to tone down the speed thing?
Jay Leno: No, they can't do anything and don't bother me. Plus, there is nothing funnier than driving on the studio lot in a 100-year-old steam car that's on fire.

M lifestyle: Have you ever crashed a bike?
Jay Leno: Yeah, all the time. That's why I have lots of bikes - when you crash, you've got to have something else to ride. 

M lifestyle: What’s the most bizarre motorcycle story you’ve got?
Jay Leno: About 12 years ago, when I was working a White House Correspondents' dinner in Washington, D.C. Afterwards, I was going to see a rather strange man in Massachusetts about buying his bike. He wanted $18,000, but only in cash - $100 bills. But at nine o'clock that morning, I got a call from (the senior) President Bush inviting me to the White House for lunch. I couldn't make it because of my travel schedule so he asked me to come over right away. I didn't want to leave all that cash in my hotel room, so I asked the front desk to send up some duct tape. I taped $18,000 to my body and put on my shirt, tie and jacket. At the White House, I was waved through by the first security guy, but the second security man picked up something with the metal detector. I unbuttoned my shirt and showed him the $18,000 taped to my body and explained my plans to buy a bike. He said, “Okay go ahead.” I buttoned my shirt and went to have tea with the President of the United States. 

M lifestyle: Why do you buy rare cars?
Jay Leno: For me, it’s the "More Money Than Brains Squad."  Besides, you really don't own these cars - you just kind of take care of them for the next person. Like paintings, they're seldom up for sale. I tend to hear from widows of people who have just passed away saying, "Bob wanted you to have this..." And my wife is getting calls from collectors saying, "Hey, if Jay ever dies, I'd love to have the Bugatti.”

M lifestyle: So ... what will happen to this collection when you’re gone?
Jay Leno: Oh. I’ve never thought about that before. They’ll probably get sold and go on to other people who would love them.

M lifestyle: Has your family been able to enjoy your success?
Jay Leno: Sure. One of the first things I did when I hit it big was buy my dad the “Italian Guy Cadillac,” the big white one with the red velour upholstery. My mom was embarrassed; she’d say “We’re really not Cadillac people.” And my dad would say, “Would you just shut up. My boy bought this beautiful car for us.”

M lifestyle: Let’s talk a little bit about the show. What’s the most memorable moment you have experienced so far?
Jay Leno: Probably on "Seinfeld's" last night in 1998 when we had John F. Kennedy, Jr. on as a surprise guest. I remembered him as the little boy, John-John, crying at his father's funeral. As we all did. My mother kept saying, “That poor little boy, that poor little boy.” At no point in my life did I ever think that our three lives would intersect.  Once he sat down, I thanked him for coming on the show; looking right at him was a very emotional moment because it all came back. My mom had passed on a few years earlier and I just wanted to say to her, "Look, he's okay.”

M lifestyle: Is there anyone who used to be in the headlines whom you miss dearly?
Jay Leno: Bill Clinton was The Golden Age of Comedy. He didn't drink, he didn't inhale and he didn't have sex with that woman. What's funnier than that? If Clinton had come out and admitted that he had succumbed to temptation and apologized to his wife and family, it would have been over. The greatest thing about the Clinton affair is that nobody got hurt. The country didn't suffer. There was no question of national security. 

M lifestyle: Why do you love to work in Las Vegas?
Jay Leno: The thing I like more than anything else about Las Vegas is the level of professionalism in terms of talent, sound systems, and lighting. It’s just so much higher than in almost any place in the country. From a sentimental point of view, my parents loved Vegas and came to see me all the time, especially when they stayed at MGM Grand. I'd have a big, beautiful dressing room and there would always be huge bowls of fruit, platters of cold cuts and every liquor imaginable. Half the stuff I never used. But it really, really impressed my parents. 

M lifestyle: When was the last time you had one of your cars valet parked?
Jay Leno: Never, never, never, ever! M