‘The Cars That Drove Us’: Jeff Dunham Talks Car Obsession, Batmobile, Jay Leno & More

Jeff Dunham is known for bringing his characters Bubba J, Peanut, Walter, and others to stages from stand-up tours to network specials. Aside from being a comedian, the ventriloquist also would describe himself as a next-level gearhead who has amassed 130 cars. He opens his garage for The Cars That Drove Us, the new eight-episode docuseries that explores the history, successes, and failures behind some of the most iconic vehicles. 

The entertainer lends trademark humor with the help of his over-the-top dummy friends to tell these origin stories. They’re joined by experts, artists, engineers, and the overall masterminds behind many of the four-wheel creations. The project comes from The Nacelle Company mastermind Brian Volk-Weiss and team, who has given us The Toys That Made Us and the like. So far, the show has tackled everything from the Vector W8, the DeLoreon, Trans Am, and Corvette.  

Here Dunham, who is currently on the road for the Artificial Intelligence Tour, chats what it’s like to show off his incredible car collection for this Discovery Channel series. 

The Cars That Drove Us (Discovery Channel)

How did The Cars That Drove Us come together? 

Jeff Dunham: I’ve been collecting cars for the past 20 years or something like that. I had a lot of fun and opportunities and opened doors and met a lot of people. We kept trying to think what’s the perfect show? It was kind of an idea from my agent. We started noodling with it and changing it and morphed it and got together with Brian Volk-Weiss and Nacelle. Wow, what a great marriage. We’ve had a great time the last year-and-a-half getting this thing done. Some great interviews, some great vehicles, and stories people have never heard before. That’s what I love about this most. It’s a car show, but not zero to 60 in so many seconds. It’s not a giant motor in this car. It’s the heart and soul behind how many of these vehicles. Ones that bring us so much love. Whether people grew up with them or they’ve become part of their lives, it’s the people and the blood, sweat, and tears that made these things happen. 

You have 130 cars in your collection. What went into deciding which eight you wanted to feature this first season? 

The number one was to pick cars that people would be interested in. Number two is we wanted to pick vehicles this first season that were still people around who had hands-on experience developing them, designing them, and building them. That’s what we got. There were a couple of vehicles we thought would be great. By the time we did the research, we figured out everyone who worked on this was gone. This first season was about the real people who did these things. That’s what the interviews are. So, that was the two criteria. Something the public would want to hear about or learn. It can’t be cars only a niche group would know. The show moves fast and fun and for every age of the family. It has a little bit of a snark and humor to it, but it also is smart and very digestible for every age group and demographic. 

Discovery Channel

For me, the DeLorean episode was wild. More than just the association to Back to the Future. 

There are three stories this season that are about the man and the machine. One dream that sort of made it and sort of didn’t, but DeLorean is one. My favorite episode is the Meyers Manx dune buggy and how Bruce Myers made that culture. It’s just a heartfelt story. John DeLorean, if you know anything about him you’d think DeLorean and cocaine and the end. There is a whole lot more in there. The Vector W8 and  Jerry Wiegert, who built the true American super car. There’s a great story behind that. Another one, which kind of ended sadly.

How is it opening your garage for viewers to see? 

It’s fun because it’s not open to the public yet. I’m not quite sure how we’re going to do that yet. Maybe this show will push me into it. It’s not open to the general public, just family and friends at this point. I think we’re going to do some charity deal where if your company gives x amount of money to these five charities, then you and 10 people can come , and I’ll give you a tour or something like that…It is a lot of fun and to have those cars and show them off and now be able to deduct them. I’m not stupid! [laughs]

What did it mean to you to have Jay Leno appear? We know he is a car guy. 

Yeah. I’ve been on his shows a bunch of times, and Jay is always gracious to do a handful of things for me as well. Him being part of this show is really a stamp where this is a legit car show. He is an encyclopedia of automobile knowledge that will never be equaled. That guy, it’s amazing how much knowledge he has of every kind of car you can talk about. 

This is leading up to the final four episodes. One I’m excited about is the Batmobile where the installment goes into what went into the making of the Batman 1989 movie.

The [Michael] Keaton batmobile! People ask me if you had to get rid of all your cars, which one would you keep? I always say it’s the Keaton batmobile. One, it was one of the first really nice cars I got. Two, we put so much time and effort into it to get it street legal and running. It is a screen used from Batman Returns .There are the two hero cars Warner Brothers still has, but this one was used for some pickup shots and stills. It draws a crowd. You can have a $6 million Bugatti and pull up in this thing and guess which one they are going to look at? 

When the family comes into the garage, are you more don’t touch that or fine with them exploring? 

My boys are pretty great. I have 10-year-old twin boys. They know how to behave around cars. When we opened this particular warehouse after we finished building it they had Nerf gun wars in here, which was fine. We’re still finding Nerf darts. 

Have you topped out at 130, or are you still in the market to add to the collection? 

This is kind of a joke, but I don’t have KITT. We have the DeLorean time machine here, but no Kitt. I think that would be fun. There are some legit cars in here, but there are some movie cars too. It would be great to have Knight Rider in here too. 

Discovery Channel

If there was a Season 2, what are the ones you want to see tackled? 

That is a great question we talk about all the time. Boy, I don’t know? The Kaiser Darrin is a really interesting car. It’s a beautiful vehicle, and they didn’t make many of them. It’s just a fun car. Look at the doors. They slide open, but it’s also what people hate because it’s next to impossible for people to get out of. 

What has been your big takeaway from filming this show? 

I’ve always said a car is a piece of artwork. Now unfortunately so many vehicles get built by committee. You see the concept car and go, “This will be great.” By the time it makes it to the public, it has been dumbed down to what the general public is going to like. It could get to a point where it’s too niche where the angles are gone and cool design is gone and every car starts to look the same.

So, I like the designers that take chances. I love that Chrysler still takes chances and does some crazy stuff where they hit and miss for example…My takeaway is that I’ve always thought that these are pieces of artwork that people put their expertise in and it’s people who are at the top of their game designing these things. They are here to stay. As Leno has said, he is just the keeper of these vehicles until the next guy owns them. These cars will be around long after we are all gone and a tribute to these people who built them. They are not hanging on a wall. It’s not a painting and will drive down the road, but there is every bit of artistry looking at them. 

How has that Artificial Intelligence tour going? 

It’s going great. We’re having a lot of fun. We may be shooting a new special soon. 

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What’s it like to craft a show these days in a world where people can be offended so easily? 

The good part of me being where I am now is the audience is coming to see me. They’ve seen me for so long and know what to expect. They expect to see Achmed the Dead Terrorist. They expect José Jalapeño.  If I did not bring those two guys, they would be very upset. It’s one of those things where if you’ve done this long enough, you know how far you can push things and what you can say and can’t say and what you shouldn’t say. At the same time, if you’re a good comedian, you’ve got to push it to the edge to make people laugh. I’ve always said if five percent of the room is offended, you’re probably right on the money. 

Jeff Dunham’s The Cars That Drove Us, Tuesdays, 9/8c, Discovery Channel