Jay Leno talks about electric cars with consumer tech reporter Dalvin Brown. Josmar Taveras, USA TODAY

Comedian Jay Leno knows his car history: He’s tinkered with a Depression-era Ford, owns a Lamborghini from the 1960s and likes to point out the strengths of a notorious Detroit lemon.

The stand-up and former “Tonight Show” host stopped by USA TODAY last week where he discussed the past and future of cars, and offered a bit of wisdom for people on the market for a new vehicle.

Over the years, the star of “Jay Leno’s Garage” on CNBC has amassed a multimillion-dollar collection of more than 250 vehicles, including a 1994 McLaren F1 that he says is the greatest car of the 20th century, a 1969 Lamborghini Miura S and a 1970 Mazda Cosmo which is one of the first rotary-powered sports cars, according to Leno.

He has a 1954 Jaguar XK120M Coupe, which was one of the most successful sports cars of its era, and a Bentley Speed Six that helped establish the company’s racing tradition in the late 1920s.

So what does a person who has an extensive assemblage of motorcycles, iconic daily drivers and Smithsonian-worthy vehicles look for in a car?

“I like cars that are noble failures and cars that were ahead of their time in their time,” Leno said. He used the Chevrolet Corvair as an example.

The notorious compact car saw two generations of production from 1960 to 1969. It was propelled to fame by Ralph Nader in 1965 when the attorney wrote a scathing book, Unsafe At Any Speed, in which he went through a litany of ways that cars are unsafe – from lack of restraint systems to unpadded dashboards.

Leno, who acknowledged the controversy surrounding the car, said, “To me, the Corvair was the most innovative car Chevrolet ever built. It was brilliant — one of the most European (looking) American cars ever made.”

“You can find them from $800 to $900. The best one in the world can’t be more than 20 grand,” Leno said.