With his Green Garage, Leno is ready for Planet Green prime-time

January 12th, 2010

While it now appears that we won’t be able to count on Jay Leno’s 10 pm time slot, there’s at least something else we can depend on the famed talk-show host for: his continued devotion to sustainable automotive technology.

WATCH: Leno profiles the 2011 Chevy Volt

Most people know that Leno is a car nut — his personal collection of 150+ cars and motorcycles is housed in a 17,000-square-foot custom-built garage, complete with its own team of mechanics — but it was only recently that I heard about Leno’s Green Garage initiative, which is profiled on Jay Leno’s Garage website. And it’s not just the vehicles that are green, though Leno does have a smattering of some truly drool-worthy eco-minded models, like his E85 Corvette and BMW Hydrogen 7; the garage itself is outfitted with solar panels and a wind turbine that have taken it almost completely off the grid, as well as a host of other cool green garage solutions, like using microorganisms to clean auto parts, an aerosal system that eliminates single-use cans, and a foaming waterless hand soap strong enough to take the grease stains off your hands.

It may seem a bit hypocritical for the owner of so many cars to talk about going green. But, as Leno said when he introduced the Green Garage, it’s not like they’re all running at the same time. Cars are here to stay (for the meantime, anyway), so we may as well be realistic about finding innovative solutions that can reduce their footprint — both in and out of the shop. We’ll be looking to Leno’s Green Garage to fill us in on the latest and greatest in green automotive technology.

And if this second round of late-night switcheroos doesn’t pan out, maybe there’s a future for Jay on Planet Green.

–Jennifer Grayson