Jay Leno Welcomes the 2011 Chevrolet Volt to His Garage

LOS ANGELES — Jay Leno is well known as a big name in automotive enthusiast circles — and as an excellent source for publicity — so it was inevitable that the 2011 Chevrolet Volt would make its way into his garage. Chief engineer Andrew Farah took the Volt to Leno's Big Dog Garage this week as part of a California goodwill tour for the upcoming EV.

"I guess it's Jay Leno's Green Garage this time," Leno says in the introduction to a 13-minute video on his Web site. "You must be proud of this thing," he says to Farah while standing in front of the Volt.

"When you're driving on gas, does it ever make more electricity than it needs?" Leno asks. Farah assures him that the Volt will make only as much electricity as it can use. More in character for the TV host, Leno points out the Volt's similarity to a 1916 Owens Magnetic gas/electric, explaining that the Owens runs an electric dynamo and has no transmission, clutch or shifting. "Electric cars are nothing new," he tells Farah in the video.

"You could conceivably get hundreds of miles per gallon if you live 30 miles away from work," Leno says as he looks under the hood, in a quote that will surely be music to GM's ears.

Inside Line says: Leno could be a taste maker for GM's Great Electric Hope. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent