Jimmy Kimmel Brought Up Tim Allen’s ‘Rivalry’ With Jay Leno Over Their Massive Vintage Car Collections, And Kat Dennings Confirmed It’s Serious Business

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Kat Dennings has worked alongside Tim Allen for two seasons of the ABC show Shifting Gears (by the time the season ends in 2026), so she knows what it’s like to be on set with him. It probably comes as no surprise that Tim Allen, known for Home Improvement, loves talking about cars – especially his own! The show isn’t filmed at a car repair shop by accident. And according to Dennings, a good rule of thumb? Avoid praising Jay Leno’s car collection.

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Beth Behrs, known from 2 Broke Girls, didn’t directly state this on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, but she strongly hinted at it through her playful responses and body language. The conversation started when Kimmel mentioned Tim Allen and another Last Man Standing star and their love of golf carts. It all began with a discussion about seat belts, something people talk about every day. Here’s how Behrs responded when asked about Allen’s hobby – and more than just his hobby.

He owns a lot of cars – I’m not sure of the exact number, but it could be around 100. It’s similar to Jay Leno’s famous collection of classic and rare vehicles.

Just imagining 100 cars all in one place makes me stressed about finding parking, even if they were all mine. It makes me wonder where I even got so many cars, and that worry just gets worse and worse.

I have to say, Jay Leno seemed perfectly comfortable on Shifting Gears earlier this year, and Jimmy Kimmel clearly knew it. He playfully teased Tim Allen through Jay – using the fact that Jay used to host The Tonight Show as the punchline. It led to a pretty funny back-and-forth, which went like this:

  • JIMMY: Although Jay Leno laughs at Tim Allen’s 100 cars collection.
  • KAT: I know, I know. Jay’s more of the type, I know. I’ve heard a lot. I‘ve heard all about this.
  • JIMMY: Well, you know, [Tim] is always like, ‘Well, Jay has a few more cars than I do.’ I’m like, ‘This is a world I know nothing about.’

Kat Dennings perfectly embodies the role of someone who’s repeatedly heard the same tired stories – from a husband, father, or coworker – without ever really caring about the topic. She still manages to be polite about it, which makes Allen’s random, obsessive comments about Jay Leno’s car collection even funnier. He just can’t stop thinking about it!

Kimmel continued, reveling in the knowledge of the mini-rivalry:

  • JIMMY: I like the idea that there is a rivalry there, “Who has 100 cars?” and that’s not enough.
  • KAT: I mean Jay did come on the show as himself, which is very cute.
  • JIMMY: To brag about how many cars he has.
  • KAT: I guess. I can’t relate. This is an expensive hobby that I don’t have access to.

The vet, known as Dollface, mentioned she only has one car and doesn’t plan on buying another one, ever—even if money weren’t an issue. I completely understand that way of thinking. She likely mentioned the battery being dead as a reason she isn’t driving at the moment.

You can watch Kat Dennings’ interview with Jimmy Kimmel here. They also discuss a funny commercial about bedwetting.

Season 2 of Shifting Gears will be back on ABC in 2025, airing every Wednesday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

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2025-11-07 17:39