When you think of Adam Carolla, Loveline comes to mind immediately. He co-hosted this call-in show with Dr Drew on MTV and you learned a lot of information while having levity throughout the show. He is also known for The Man Show, being a host of a number of TV and radio shows including, The Adam Carolla Project, which focused on home improvement on TLC. In addition to appearing on Dancing with the Stars, The Celebrity Apprentice, his voiceover work, his own sangria line known as Mangria writing a number of books and more – his passion for cars is undeniable! Last month, we interviewed Adam at The Chicago Auto Show where he shared where his passion for cars emerged, investing in Paul Newman cars, working on cars, Exotic EVs and of course his bromance with Jimmy Kimmel.
ATHLEISURE MAG: What was the moment that you knew that you fell in love with cars?
ADAM CAROLLA: I have always loved cars since I was a little, little boy. I was a big fan of cars, I just never had any money and my parents, they didn’t have any money. My dad didn’t like cars and my mom didn’t like cars – it was kind of crappy because it was like being a musician and never having a guitar to play. I got older and I was poor again and drove pickup trucks, worked as a carpenter and at some point, I got into show business and made some money and was finally able to buy some cars.
AM: How did it happen that you became the guy that had so many Paul Newman cars?
AC: I always liked raced cars and I liked Datsuns for some weird reason. Paul Newman drove for Datsun at the beginning of his career and then he drove for Nissan. So I was collecting these Datsun race cars and these Paul Newman cars kept coming up! So I would go, “well it’s a Nissan race car – I’ll take it.” The Newman name was not as important to me at the time, but at a certain point it dawned on me that I was actually collecting Newman race cars and not Datsun race cars and that's when it started to turn and that’s when I started to focus a little more on just collecting the Newman stuff.
AM: You’re at The Chicago Auto Show. What do you love about the show and what are you looking forward to seeing?
AC: I love all the cars, they are all my children – sort of like Michael Jackson felt about the children of the world – but in a wholesome way! None of the later year stuff! I look at the cars like all of my children. You know the electric cars are like my step kids that have been in and out of juvi – I’m not that into. He can still sleep at the house, but he has to stay away from my beer.
AM: What do you think of the whole Exotic EV movement that’s going on?
AC: I think it’s fine, my wife has a Tesla, but it just died in the garage literally 2 days ago – there is nothing that we can do about it. They took it and said that they didn’t know what was wrong with it. We don’t know when we will be able to get it back to you. I like a car with an internal combustion engine in it and a car that I can dump some Castrol Edge into versus and electric car that doesn’t have a crank case.
AM: Well, I guess there won’t be any additional Exotic EV’s being added to your collection.
AC: No! We needed one car with an internal combustion engine in it to get around. Like I said, when the electric cars die – they just die! I’m pretty good at wrenching on cars, but I’m looking at a Tesla and it just says that it is dead and I don’t even know where to begin. Where if it was an old school car, I’d put it in neutral and bump start it or get out the cables and jumpstart it or try something.
AM: What trends are you seeing at the show that we should keep an eye out for?
AC: I'm seeing smaller motors - V8's giving way to V6’s, V6’s giving way to straight or in-line 4 Cylinder engines. They’re putting turbo chargers on them. They’re asking more of smaller engines and that’s where Castrol Edge comes in for maximum engine performance. You need a better lubrication because you’re asking for more out of a smaller engine.
AM: What are your 3 must hav3s that you have in your garage when you’re working on your cars?
AC: My 3 must hav3s are a metric set of sockets because I’m working on foreign stuff mainly, an IPA beer and Castrol Edge. And I’ll take a swig off of both of them – oh yeah!
AM: In terms of your tribe, who are 3 people that have influenced your career?
AC: Well, I would say God, but I am an atheist and then I’d say my dad, but I don’t really like him. I’ll say Paul Newman oh and there’s Jimmy Kimmel – I mean come on, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Jimmy Kimmel! I don’t like my dad, but I like Jimmy’s dad! So, I’ll say Jimmy’s dad, Paul Newman and Jimmy Kimmel!
By the way, Jimmy’s dad is a Jim Kimmel, but for some reason, we don’t call him Jr!
AM: Alright, those are some pretty great picks. It was so much fun talking to you about Paul Newman, cars and Jimmy Kimmel! Is there anything that we should keep an eye out for?
AC: If you guys want to see a pretty cool video, go to Castrol Edge USA’s channel on YouTube and see me driving the wheels off this Audi RA!
IG @AdamCarolla
You can also enjoy hearing Adam Carolla's interview with us right now on our show, #TRIBEGOALS which is a part of Athleisure Studio, our multi-media podcast network! You can hear it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and wherever you enjoy listening to your favorite podcast shows
Read the March Issue of Athleisure Mag and see More Power with Adam Carolla in mag.
