(Adam Carolla - Image Courtesy of Ace Broadcasting)
I remember many years back watching "The Man Show" and thinking how mindless, yet genius it was. Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel drinking beer, girls on trampolines and lots of guy talk. Both guys were funny, and well, the visuals often needed no explanation.
Both Carolla and Kimmel have gone on to do bigger and better things. Carolla went on to produce "Crank Yankers" and write for his buddy at Jimmy Kimmel Live, among numerous other things.
A colleague of mine knew of my interest in celebrities who collect, and pointed out Carolla's interest in cars. Say no more! I've had a passion for fine automobiles for as long as I can remember. I have never seen a vintage Corvette I didn't like. So of course, I had to find out where Carolla's interest came from...
RH: Adam, thanks for talking with me today. I'm dying to know how you became interested in collecting cars. For me, I grew up at the track. My mom raced Corvettes when I was little. I was hooked immediately. Were you a fan of Matchbox cars when you were a kid and decided to start collecting the life size versions or what?
AC: I had Matchbox cars... I'm not sure exactly where I got the interest. I've always been mechanical. I guess I've always had the bug. I've never had an outlet before. My dad had no interest in cars, and I didn't really have any money, so I was sorta lost. I was like a guy who needed a drum but couldn't afford a drum kit. I banged on pots and pans every day. I got into show biz and made a few dollars, so now I could scratch the itch. Once I got into that, I was making up for lost time! I was over-compensating. Now I have too many cars and projects.
RH: What was your first acquisition?
AC: The first thing I went after was my 1989 E30 BMW M3. Not a whole lot of horse power but a cool German car.
(E30 BMW - Photo Courtesy of Ace Broadcasting)
RH: Do you still have the car in your collection?
AC: I sold it recently. I started collecting too many cars and decided to thin the herd. I wanted to focus more on racing.
RH: Thinning the herd huh? I suppose I'd rather have one '63 split window Corvette instead of three 1970s era Camaros (not that there is anything wrong with a Camaro!) Living in California I'm sure you've seen several nice car collections. Let's face it, if you are going to have a collection of cars, California would be much better than say, New Jersey to take them for a Sunday drive. Have you ever seen Jay Leno's collection? Is his collection better than yours?
AC: Yea I have been to see Jay's collection many times. I am very friendly with him. In fact, I'm heading over there this Saturday. I am headed to Laguna Seca to do a vintage race. Jay doesn't have many race cars, but his car collection is much better than mine. Now, I'm most interested in collecting race cars. My favorite is a Datsun BRE roadster which was the first car BRE built in the late 60s. I won the Rolex cup driving that car. Old skool all the way!
RH: After doing a little looking around on your website, I found you have a pretty popular podcast for car enthusiasts. So you really are a car nut! Tell me more!
AC: It's a weekly show called CarCast. You can find it on my network (www.adamcarolla.com) You can also download it for free on iTunes. (Reyne's note to readers: Funny and modest describes Carolla, it's the #1 downloaded podcast) Me and a guy named Matt talk about guys and interview other car nuts. If you are into cars, it's a pretty cool show. However, it's not very politically correct.
RH: Don't get politically correct on us now! Last week, I tweeted to my readers that you were our next celebrity collector and asked if anyone had a question for you. One reader, Janine Godwin, replied back with a NoHo shout out to you, and asked the oh so serious question "If money were no object, what would you buy?"
AC: I'll mix it up a little and not say Ferrari GT, but go with a mid 1960s Ferrari 250 LM.
RH: Good choice! Will you take me for a ride?
(Carolla's Miura - Photo Courtesy of Ace Broadcasting)
Catch Adam Carolla's CarCast at www.adamcarolla.com He's got a lot of great videos and information, plus a vast array of photos of his collection for your viewing pleasure there.
He also has a new eBook out titled "Rich Man, Poor Man" Order it here:
http://www.adamcarolla.com/rich-man-poor-man/