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The boxer engine was first patented by German engineer Karl Benz.

A flat engine is an internal combustion engine with multiple pistons that move in a horizontal plane. Typically, the layout has cylinders arranged in two banks on either side of a single crankshaft and is sometimes known as the boxer, or horizontally opposed engine. The concept was patented in 1896 by engineer Karl Benz. It should not be confused with the opposed-piston engine, in which each cylinder has a piston at both ends and no cylinder head.

Another widely used form of flat engine consists of a straight engine with two, three, four or more cylinders canted 90 degrees into the horizontal plane, however this is not generally considered significantly different from other straight engines.

Configuration[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

1954 BMW "Boxer" motorcycle engine. The two cylinders cannot be directly opposite each other.

The Flat-4 Volkswagen air-cooled engine

UL260i Flat-4 aircraft engine

Flat engines offer a low centre of gravity and thereby may offer a drive configuration with better stability and control. Flat engines lend themselves well to aircraft engines.

Front-mounted air-cooled flat-twin engines were used in Tatra 11 and Tatra 30, by Citroën in their model 2CV and its derivatives, and the GS and GSA. Oltcit Club used a flat-four and a flat-six was proposed for the Citroën DS but rejected. BMW has used air- or air/oil-cooled flat-twin engines in its motorcycles from 1923 until the present day. Cars such as the Porsche 911 use a flat-engine (in that particular case a six-cylinder) at the rear of the car, where its extra width does not interfere with the steering of the front wheels and there is a weight-saving since no prop-shaft is required.

All versions of the Subaru Impreza, Forester, Tribeca, Legacy, Outback, Baja and SVX use either a flat-4 or flat-6 engine.

True boxers have each crankpin controlling only one piston/cylinder while 180° engines, which superficially appear very similar, share crankpins.

• The boxer engine has corresponding pistons reaching top dead centre (TDC) simultaneously.

Boxer engines must not be confused with opposed-piston engines, which are essentially the inverse, with two pistons compressing a single combustion space. These can be used in vehicles such as tanks.

Boxer engines[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

1969 Hino Motors DS140 12-cylinder boxer diesel engine

Boxer engines got their name because each pair of pistons moves simultaneously in and out rather than alternately, like boxers showing they are ready by clashing their gloved fists against each other before a fight. Boxer engines of up to eight cylinders have proved highly successful in automobiles and up to six cylinders in motorcycles and continue to be popular for light aircraft engines.

Boxers are one of only three cylinder layouts that have a natural dynamic balance; the others being the straight-6 and the V12. These engines can run very smoothly and free of unbalanced forces with a four-stroke cycle and do not require a balance shaft or counterweights on the crankshaft to balance the weight of the reciprocating parts, which are required in other engine configurations. Note that this is generally true of boxer engines regardless of the number of cylinders (assumed to be even), but not true for all V or inline engines. However, in the case of boxer engines with fewer than six cylinders, unbalanced moments (a reciprocating torque also known as a "rocking couple") are unavoidable due to the "opposite" cylinders being slightly out of line with each other.

Boxer engines (and flat engines in general) tend to be noisier than other common engines for both intrinsic and other reasons, e.g., in cars, valve clatter from under the hood is not damped by large air filters and other components. Boxers need no balance weights on the crankshaft, which is lighter and fast-accelerating. They have a characteristic smoothness throughout the rev range and offer a low centre of gravity.

Notable flat engines[link]

Subaru Boxer Turbodiesel engine cutaway display

• In 1896, Karl Benz invented the first internal combustion engine with horizontally opposed pistons.
• In 1923 Max Friz designed the first BMW motorcycles, choosing a 500 cc boxer engine and unit transmission with shaft drive. This engine type is still in production today. The BMW 247 engine, known as an airhead due to its air cooling, was produced until 1995. BMW replaced it with the oilhead engine with partial oil cooling and four valves per cylinder, but still retaining the same flat-twin configuration.
• In 1948 Preston Tucker modified a helicopter flat-six to be rear-mounted in his Tucker Torpedo
• The Volkswagen air-cooled flat-four engine used in the Volkswagen Beetle, SP2 and Karmann Ghia, and later developed further for the Volkswagen Type 2 (Bus) transporters and Volkswagen Type 3 cars. VW was rumoured to have worked on a Diesel version of the aircooled boxer but abandoned this engine due to noise and heat issues. The latest version of the VW boxer was watercooled and thus dubbed the 'Wasserboxer' or waterboxer by enthusiasts. This engine included many developments of the earlier engines. It was offered in capacities of 1.9 and 2.1 litres was used to power T3 buses and transporters.
• The Citroën 2CV and Panhard air-cooled flat-twin engines, both influenced by the flat-twins of BMW
• The air-cooled Chevrolet Corvair OHV flat-six
• In 1960 Lancia's flat-four water-cooled engine debuted for the Lancia Flavia model, first Italian front-wheel drive car, like 1500 cc 90 PS (66 kW) coupé version and during the years become a 2000 cc with 142 bhp (106 kW) when was mounted the first electronic Injection by Bosch in 1970 in a flat four engine, Lancia also rebuild a new big flat-four engine in 1976, 2484 cc, for his upper size model Lancia Gamma. It was produced until 1984 and was Lancia's last flat-four engine.
• The flat-four engines in Alfa Romeo's Alfasud, Sprint, 33 and early versions of the 145. The last of the line was a 1,712 cc flat-four, 16-valves, producing up to 137 PS (101 kW).
• The Toyota Sports 800 was Toyota's first sports car, and contained a two-cylinder Boxer engine, the 2U.
• The water-cooled front-mounted flat-four and flat-six engines used by Subaru in all of its mid-sized cars. Subaru refers to these as boxer engines in publicity commentary, and include a variety of naturally aspirated and turbo driven engines from 1966, when the Subaru 1000 was introduced to current; both closed and semi-closed short blocks have been used. A print add for the 1973 Subaru GL coupe referred to the engine as "quadrozontal"^[1] The EJ series of four-cylinder engines released first in 1990 has been the focus for the development of the Boxer engine in the late 20th century. Ranging from 1.6–2.5 litres, this engine in its 2-litre turbo arrangement has been the power behind World Rally Championship winning cars. Subaru also offers a boxer turbodiesel,^[2] called the Subaru EE series, the world's first to be fitted into a passenger car.
• Since its introduction in 1975, the Honda Goldwing has utilized a boxer engine, a four-cylinder until 1987, and six-cylinders since. The water-cooled SOHC 1,832 cc flat-six is fitted to the Honda Goldwing from 2001 on.
• The air-cooled flat-four, flat-six and flat-eight engines were used for many years in early Porsches. The flat-twelve in the 917 model is a 180° V-engine and not a boxer.
• The water-cooled flat-six engines in the Porsche Boxster, Cayman and later 911 models
• General aviation aircraft often use air-cooled flat-four and flat-six engines made by companies such as Lycoming, Continental. Ultralight and microlight aircraft often use engines such as the Rotax 912 or Jabiru 2200.
• Ferrari made use of a flat-twelve design in several models, including the Berlinetta Boxer, the Testarossa and its derivatives, such as the 512TR and the F512 M, although this engine design is technically a V12 that has been flattened down to a 180° configuration, and therefore cannot be regarded as a true boxer engine.

Flat engine designs[link]

• Flat-twin engine
• Flat-four engine
• Flat-six engine
• Flat-eight engine
• Flat-ten engine
• Flat-twelve engine
• Flat-sixteen engine
• H engine
• Controlled Combustion Engine

See also[link]

• History of the internal combustion engine

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2008)

External links[link]

• Detailed Flat Twin Engine Animations
• Horizontally Opposed Piston Aircraft Engines

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)

It has been suggested that Miniature internal combustion engine be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since February 2012.

For the band (previously known as Black Eyed Sceva), see Model Engine.

In radio-controlled modeling, a model engine is an internal combustion engine used to power a radio-controlled aircraft, radio-controlled car, radio-controlled boat, free flight and control line aircraft, and tether car models also use these engines. Because of the square-cube law, the behaviour of many machines does not always scale up or down at the same rate as the machine's size (and often not even in a linear way), usually at best causing a dramatic loss of power or efficiency, and at worst causing them not to work at all. Methanol and nitromethane are proven solutions to enhance the power of an automobile engine (Top Fuel) and they can even get these small engines running.

Overview[link]

The fully functional, albeit small, engines vary from the most common single-cylinder two-stroke to the exotic single and multiple-cylinder four-stroke, the latter taking shape in boxer, v-twin, inline and radial form, a few Wankel engine designs are also used. Most model engines run on a blend of methanol, nitromethane, and lubricant (either castor or synthetic oil). Two-stroke model engines, most often designed since 1970 with Schnuerle porting for best performance, range in typical size from .12 cubic inches (2 cubic centimeters) to 1.2 ci (19.6 cc) and generate between .5 horsepower (370 watts) to 5 hp (3.7 kW), can get as small as .010 ci (.16 cc) and as large as 3-4 ci (49–66 cc). Four-stroke model engines have been made in sizes as small as 0.20 in3 (3.3 cc) for the smallest single-cylinder models, all the way up to 3.05 in3 (50 cc) for the largest size for single-cylinder units, with twin- and multi-cylinder engines on the market being as small as 10 cc for opposed-cylinder twins, while going somewhat larger in size than 50 cc, and even upwards to well above 200 cc for some model radial engines. While the methanol and nitromethane blended "glow fuel" engines are the most common, many larger (especially above 15 cc/0.90 ci displacement) model engines, both two-stroke and a growing number of four-stroke examples are spark ignition, and are primarily fueled with gasoline. This article concerns itself with the methanol engines; gasoline-powered model engines are similar to those built for use in string trimmers, chainsaws, and other yard equipment, unless they happen to be purpose-built for aeromodeling use, being especially true for four-stroke gasoline-fueled model engines.

The majority of model engines have used, and continue to use, the two-stroke cycle principle to avoid needing valves in the combustion chamber, but a growing number of model engines use the four-stroke cycle design instead. Both reed valve and rotary valve-type two-strokes are common, with four-stroke model engines using either conventional poppet valve, and rotary valve formats for induction and exhaust.

The engine shown to the right has its carburetor in the center of the zinc alloy casting to the left. (It uses a flow restriction, like the choke on an old car engine, because the venturi effect is not effective on such a small scale.) The valve reed, cross shaped above its retainer spring, is still beryllium copper alloy, in this old engine. The glow plug is built into the cylinder head. Large production volume makes it possible to use a machined cylinder and an extruded crank case (cut away by hand in the example shown). These Cox Bee reed valve engines are notable for their low cost and ability to survive crashes. The components of the engine shown come from several different engines.

Glowplug engines[link]

Glow plugs are used for starting as well as continuing the power cycle. The glow plug consists of a durable, mostly platinum, helically wound wire filament, within a cylindrical pocket in the plug body, exposed to the combustion chamber. A small direct current voltage (around 1.5 volts) is applied to the glow plug, the engine is then started, and the voltage is removed. The burning of the fuel/air mixture in a glow-plug model engine, which requires methanol for the glow plug to work in the first place, and sometimes with the use of nitromethane for greater power output and steadier idle, occurs due to the catalytic reaction of the methanol vapor to the presence of the platinum in the filament, thus causing the ignition. This keeps the plug's filament glowing hot, and allows it to ignite the next charge. Since the ignition timing is not controlled electrically, as in a spark ignition engine or by fuel injection, as in an ordinary diesel, it must be adjusted by the richness of the mixture, the ratio of nitromethane to methanol, the compression ratio, the cooling of the cylinder head, the type of glow plug, etc. A richer mixture will tend to cool the filament and so retard ignition, slowing the engine, and a rich mixture also eases starting. After starting the engine can easily be leaned (by adjusting a needle valve in the spraybar) to obtain maximum power. Glowplug engines are also known as nitro engines. Nitro engines require a 1.5 volt ignitor to light the glow plug in the heat sink. Once primed, pulling the starter with the ignitor in will start the engine.

Diesel engines[link]

Diesel engines are an alternative to methanol glow plug engines. These "diesels" run on a mixture of kerosene, ether, castor oil or vegetable oil, and Amsoil cetane or amyl nitrate booster. Despite their name, their use of compression ignition, and the use of a kerosene fuel that is similar to diesel, model diesels share very little with full-size diesel engines.

Full-size diesel engines, such as those found in a truck, are fuel injected and either two-stroke or four-stroke. They use compression ignition to ignite the mixture: the compression within the cylinder heats the inlet charge sufficiently to cause ignition, without requiring an applied ignition source. A fundamental feature of such engines, unlike petrol (gasoline) engines, is that they draw in air alone and the fuel is only mixed by being injected into the combustion chamber separately. Model diesel engines are instead a carbureted two-stroke using the crankcase for compression. Their carburettor supplies a mixture of fuel and air into the engine, with the proportions kept fairly constant and their total volume throttled to control the engine power. Apart from sharing the diesel's use of compression ignition, their construction has more in common with a small two-stroke motorcycle or lawnmower engine. In addition to this, model diesels have variable compression ratios. This variable compression is achieved by a "contra-piston," at the top of the cylinder, which can be adjusted by a screwed "T-bar". The swept volume of the engine remains the same, but as the volume of the combustion chamber at top dead centre is changed by adjusting the contra-piston, the compression ratio (swept volume + combustion chamber / combustion chamber) changes accordingly.

Model diesels are found to produce more torque than glow engines of the same displacement, and are thought to get better fuel efficiency, because the same power is produced at a lower RPM, and in a smaller displacement engine. However, the specific power may not be significantly superior to a glow engine, due to overbuilding, to assure that the engine can withstand the much higher compression, sometimes reaching ratios of as high as 30:1. Diesels also run significantly quieter, due to the more rapid combustion, unlike two-stroke glow engines, in which combustion may still be occurring when the exhaust ports are uncovered, causing a significant amount of noise.

See also[link]

• Four-stroking
• Glow plug
• Glow fuel

Makers[link]

• Cox Model Engines
• O.S. Engines
• Novarossi
• Yamada Engines (YS)
• Saito Seisakusho

External links[link]

• Yamada Engines
• Saito Seisakusho

Ford GT40 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

Porsche 917K in the distinctive Gulf Oil livery at the 2006 Goodwood Festival

John Wyer (11 December 1909, Kidderminster, England – 1989, Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.) was an English automobile racing engineer and team manager. He is mainly associated with cars running in the lightblue and orange livery of his longtime sponsorship partner Gulf Oil.

As team manager and team owner, Wyer won the 24 Hours of Le Mans several times. His first victory came in the 1959 edition, in his tenth anniversary as Aston Martin team manager, helping Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori win with the DBR1. The team also won the 1000km Nürburgring in three consecutive years.

In 1963 he left Aston Martin for Ford Advanced Vehicles (FAV) In 1964. After dismal results with the GT40's in their first two years, mainly dealing with reliability due to mechanical failure, the Ford GT40 program was handed over to Holman Moody and Carroll Shelby to compete against Ferrari, with the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans victory being the most famous, as well as 1967. While factory support from Ford backed Carroll Shelby and Holman moody with the MkII and MK IV chassis, John Wyer continued competing with The GT40 MKI, as well as experimenting with their own inhouse built cars, known as Mirage M1, M2, and M3.

When Ford closed the project after the 1967 season, John Wyer and John Willment formed J.W. Automotive (JWA). As Wyer was the well known team manager and present at race tracks, it was widely assumed that JW stands for John Wyer even though it means John Willment, as stated by Willment's brother-in-law Hans Herrmann.

With backing from Gulf Oil and their teammanager J-O Bockman, Wyer created the Ford-powered Mirage M-1, a prototype that won the 1967 1000km Spa. Due to a rule change that came in effect for 1968, prototypes were limited to 3000cc, while sportscars could have 5000cc if at least 50 were built. This applied to the two-year-old Ford GT40s, which were modified by Wyer. As a surprise, Wyer won the World Sportscar Championship for Ford in 1968 even though the 2200cc Porsche 907 were considered favorites at the beginning of the season. The superior power of the 5000cc V8 allowed them to win on fast tracks, and especially at Le Mans two years in a row in 1968 and 1969, even though they were outclassed at twistier tracks.

As it was obvious that the GT40 would finally become obsolete after 1969, Wyer switched to the new Porsche 917. Wyer's team even became the factory's main partner and was a major factor in developing the wedge-shaped Kurzheck tail of the 1970 917K which made the car much more stable than the original 1969 version.

Battling with Ferrari 512, the other Porsche team that was backed by Martini Racing and led by Vic Elford, and even Gulf-Porsche-Stars Jo Siffert and Pedro Rodríguez competing against each other, JWA earned many victories in 1970 and 1971, but not at Le Mans. In fiction, a Gulf-Porsche 917K won in Le Mans (film), though, making the Gulf colors even more famous.

In 1972, 5 litre sportscars like the 917s were banned, and the 3000cc Porsche 908 prototypes were also dropped by the factory as the new weight limit was too high, removing the 908's advantage that balanced their lack of power.

Wyer adopted the new 3.0 L regulations and started building Gulf-Mirage prototypes once more, using a Formula One Cosworth DFV engine. The successful F1-engine was considered unsuited for endurance racing as vibrations took their toll after several hours, so modifications had to be made. After three years of trying, Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell finally achieved Wyer's last win at Le Mans, in 1975.

The following year, John Wyer retired from automotive competition and sold his team to Harley Cluxton's Grand Touring Cars operation.

References[link]

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009)

Jay Leno
Leno in July 2008
Birth name	James Douglas Muir Leno
Born	(1950-04-28) April 28, 1950 (age 62)[1] New Rochelle, New York, U.S.[1]
Medium	Television, Film, Stand up
Nationality	American
Years active	1973–present
Genres	Observational comedy, Political satire
Subject(s)	American culture, Everyday life
Influences	Johnny Carson, Robert Klein, Alan King, George Carlin,[2] Don Rickles, Bob Newhart, Rodney Dangerfield
Influenced	Dennis Miller[3]
Spouse	Mavis Leno (1980–present)
Notable works and roles	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (host, 1992–2009, 2010–) The Jay Leno Show (host, 2009–2010)
Signature
Website	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series 1995 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno /ˈlɛnoʊ/ (born April 28, 1950)^[1] is an American stand-up comedian and television host.

From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time, UTC-5), also on NBC. After The Jay Leno Show was canceled in January 2010 amid a host controversy, Leno returned to host The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 1, 2010.^[4]

Early life[link]

James "Jay" Leno was born in New Rochelle, New York, in 1950. His mother, Catherine (née Muir; 1911–1993), a homemaker, was born in Greenock, Scotland, and came to the United States at age 11. Leno's father, Angelo (1910–1994), who worked as an insurance salesman, was born in New York to immigrants from Flumeri, Italy.^[5] Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and although his high school guidance counselor recommended that he drop out of school, he later obtained a Bachelor's degree in speech therapy from Emerson College, where he started a comedy club in 1973.^[6] Leno's siblings include his late older brother, Patrick, who was a Vietnam veteran^[7] and a lawyer.^[6]

Career[link]

During the 1970s, Leno appeared in minor roles in several television series and films, first in the 1976 episode "J.J. in Trouble" of Good Times and the same year in the pilot of Holmes & Yo-Yo. After an uncredited appearance in the 1977 film Fun with Dick and Jane, he played more prominent parts in 1978 in American Hot Wax and Silver Bears. Other films and television series from that period include Almost Heaven (1978), "Going Nowhere" (1979) from One Day at a Time, Americathon (1979), Polyester (1981), "The Wild One" (1981) from Alice, "Feminine Mistake" (1979) and "Do the Carmine" (1983) from Laverne & Shirley.

[edit] The Tonight Show

Leno in 1993, shortly after becoming host of The Tonight Show

Starting in 1987, Leno was a regular substitute host for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. In 1992, he replaced Carson as host^[8] amid controversy with David Letterman, who had been hosting Late Night with David Letterman since 1982 (aired after The Tonight Show), who many had expected to be Carson's successor. The story of this turbulent transition was later turned into a book and a movie. Leno continued to perform as a stand-up comedian throughout his tenure on The Tonight Show.

In 2004, Leno signed a contract extension with NBC which would keep him as host of The Tonight Show until 2009.^[9] Later in 2004, Conan O'Brien signed a contract with NBC under which O'Brien would become the host of The Tonight Show in 2009, replacing Leno at that time.^[10]

During the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, Leno was accused of violating WGA guidelines by writing his own monologue for The Tonight Show. While NBC and Leno claim there were private meetings with the WGA where there was a secret agreement allowing this, the WGA denied such a meeting.^[11] Leno answered questions in front of the Writers Guild of America, West trial committee in February 2009 and June 2009, and when the WGAW published its list of strike-breakers on 11 August 2009, Leno was not on the list.^[12][13]

In 1998, Leno competed in a tag-team match at the WCW's "Road Wild" pay-per-view . In 2001, he voiced The Crimson Chin, a superhero in the Nickelodeon animated series The Fairly OddParents and continues to do so today.

Leno said in 2008 that he was saving all of his income from The Tonight Show and living solely off his income from stand-up comedy.^[14]

On April 23, 2009, Leno checked himself into a hospital with an undisclosed illness.^[15] He was released the following day and returned to work on Monday, April 27. The two subsequently cancelled Tonight Show episodes for April 23 and April 24 were Leno's first in 17 years as host.^[16][17] Initially, the illness that caused the absence was not disclosed, but later Leno told People magazine that the ailment was exhaustion.^[17][18]

Michael Jackson trial[link]

In the 2005 trial of Michael Jackson over allegations of child molestation, Leno appeared as a defense witness (many celebrity defense witnesses had been expected, but Leno was one of the few whose testimony was actually needed). In his testimony regarding a call by the accuser, Leno testified that he never called the police, that no money was asked for, and there was no coaching — but that the calls seemed unusual and scripted.^[19]

Leno in 2006.

As a result, Leno was initially not allowed to continue telling jokes about Jackson or the case, which had been a fixture of The Tonight Show's opening monologue in particular. But he and his show's writers used a legal loophole by having Leno briefly step aside while stand-in comedians took the stage and told jokes about the trial. Stand-ins included Roseanne Barr, Drew Carey, Brad Garrett, and Dennis Miller among others.^[20]

[edit] Succession by Conan O'Brien and The Jay Leno Show

Because Leno's show continued to lead all late-night programming in the Nielsen ratings, the pending expiration of Leno's contract led to speculation about whether he would become a late-night host for another network after his commitment to NBC expired.^[21] Leno left The Tonight Show on Friday May 29, 2009,^[22][23] and Conan O'Brien took over on June 1, 2009.

On December 8, 2008, it was reported that Leno would remain on NBC and move to a new hour-long show at 10 p.m. Eastern Time (9 p.m. Central Time) five nights a week.^[24] This show follows a similar format to The Tonight Show, tapes at the same lot, and retains many of Leno's most popular segments. Late Night host Conan O'Brien was his successor on The Tonight Show.^[25]

Jay Leno's new show, titled The Jay Leno Show, debuted on September 14, 2009. It was announced at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that it would feature one or two celebrities, the occasional musical guest, and keep the popular "Headlines" segments, which would air near the end of the show. First guests included Jerry Seinfeld, Oprah Winfrey (via satellite), and a short sit-down with Kanye West discussing his controversy at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.^[26]

[edit] Timeslot conflict and return to The Tonight Show

Wikinews has related news: US TV host Conan O'Brien rejects NBC's offer to switch his show's time slot

In their new roles, neither O'Brien nor Leno succeeded in delivering the viewing audiences the network anticipated. On January 7, 2010, multiple media outlets reported that beginning March 1, 2010, Jay Leno would move from his 10pm weeknight time slot to 11:35pm, due to a combination of pressure from local affiliates whose newscasts were suffering, and both Leno's and O'Brien's poor ratings.^[27][28] Leno's show would be shortened from an hour to 30 minutes. All NBC late night programming would be preempted by the 2010 Winter Olympics between February 15 and February 26. This would move The Tonight Show to 12:05am, a post-midnight timeslot for the first time in its history. O'Brien's contract stipulated that NBC could move the show back to 12:05 a.m. without penalty (a clause put in primarily to accommodate sports preemptions).^[29]

On January 10, NBC confirmed that they would move Jay Leno out of primetime as of February 12 and intended to move him to late night as soon as possible.^[30][31] TMZ reported that O'Brien was given no advance notice of this change, and that NBC offered him two choices: an hour-long 12:05am time slot, or the option to leave the network.^[32] On January 12, O'Brien issued a press release that stated he would not continue with Tonight if it moved to a 12:05am time slot,^[33] saying, "I believe that delaying The Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t The Tonight Show."

On January 21, it was announced that NBC had struck a deal with O'Brien. It was decided that O'Brien would leave The Tonight Show. The deal was made that O'Brien would receive a $33 million payout and that his staff of almost 200 would receive $12 million in the departure. O'Brien's final episode aired on Friday, January 22.^[34][35][36] Leno returned as host of The Tonight Show following the 2010 Winter Olympics on March 1, 2010.

On July 1, 2010, Variety reported that total viewership for Jay Leno's Tonight Show had dropped from 5 million to 4 million for the second quarter of 2010, compared to the same period in 2009. Although this represented the lowest second-quarter ratings for the show since 1992, Tonight was still the most-watched late night program, ahead of ABC's Nightline (3.7 million) and David Letterman's Late Show (3.3 million).^[37] Ratings over the following summer, when compared to the same period in 2009 with O'Brien hosting The Tonight Show (including O'Brien's highly rated debut), showed that while total viewership was 12% higher for Leno, viewership in the important "adults aged 18–49" demographic was 23% lower.^[38] NBC ratings specialist Tom Bierbaum commented that due to the host being out of late night television for a period of time and the subsequent 2010 Tonight Show conflict, Leno's ratings fall was "not a surprise at all".^[39]

Public image[link]

Criticism of Leno[link]

Leno on The Tonight Show in 2005

Leno has faced heated criticism and some negative publicity for his perceived role in the 2010 Tonight Show timeslot conflict.^[40][41] Critics have pointed to a 2004 Tonight Show clip, wherein Leno claimed he would allow O'Brien to take over without incident.^[41][42] At the time, Leno stated he didn't want O'Brien to leave for a competing network, adding, "I'll be 59 when [the switch occurs], that's five years from now. There's really only one person who could have done this into his 60s, and that was Johnny Carson; I think it's fair to say I'm no Johnny Carson."^[42] Leno also described The Tonight Show as a dynasty, saying "you hold it and hand it off to the next person. And I don't want to see all the fighting..." At the end of the segment, he said, "Conan, it's yours! See you in five years, buddy!"^[43]

Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt was among the first celebrities to openly voice disappointment with Leno, saying, "Comedians who don't like Jay Leno now, and I'm one of them, we're not like, 'Jay Leno sucks;' it's that we're so hurt and disappointed that one of the best comedians of our generation... willfully has shut the switch off."^[44] Rosie O'Donnell has been among O'Brien's most vocal and vehement supporters,^[45][46] calling Leno a "bully" and his recent actions "classless and kind of career-defining."^[47]

Bill Zehme, the co-author of Leno's autobiography Leading with My Chin, told the Los Angeles Times: "The thing Leno should do is walk, period. He's got everything to lose in terms of public popularity by going back. People will look at him differently. He'll be viewed as the bad guy."^[48]

Support for Leno[link]

NBC Sports head executive and former Saturday Night Live producer Dick Ebersol spoke out against all who had recently mocked Leno, calling them "chicken-hearted and gutless."^[49]

Jeff Gaspin also defended Leno: "This has definitely crossed the line. Jay Leno is the consummate professional and one of the hardest-working people in television. It's a shame that he's being pulled into this."^[48]

Paul Reiser and Jerry Seinfeld are two of the number of celebrities to have voiced support for Leno.^[50][51]

Responding to the mounting criticism, Leno claimed that NBC had assured him that O'Brien was willing to accept the proposed arrangement and then would not let either host out of his contract.^[52] Leno also said that the situation was "all business."^[52] He appeared on the January 28 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in an attempt to repair some of the damage done to his public image.^[53][54]

Personal life[link]

Leno with President Barack Obama in March 2009

Leno has been married since 1980 to Mavis Leno; they have no children.^[55]

He is known for his prominent jaw, which has been described as mandibular prognathism.^[56] In the book Leading with My Chin he stated that he is aware of surgery that could reset his mandible, but does not wish to endure a prolonged healing period with his jaws wired shut.

Leno is dyslexic.^[6] He claims to sleep only four to five hours each night.^[57] Leno does not drink or smoke, nor does he gamble.^[58] He spends most of his free time visiting car collections or working in his private garage.^[58]

Leno reportedly earns $32 million each year;^[59] his total net worth is unknown, but has been estimated to be at least $150 million.^[60]

Charity[link]

In 2001, along with his wife, he donated $100,000 to the Feminist Majority's campaign to stop gender apartheid in Afghanistan, to educate the public regarding the plight of women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Mavis Leno is on the board of the Feminist Majority.^[61][62]

In 2009, he donated $100,000 to a scholarship fund at Salem State College in honor of Lennie Sogoloff. Mr. Sogoloff gave Leno his start at his jazz club, Lennie's-on-the-Turnpike.^[63]

Love Ride[link]

Since 1985 Jay Leno has been the grand marshal for the Love Ride, a motorcycle charity event which since its founding in 1984 has raised nearly $14 million dollars for charities benefiting muscular dystrophy research and, in 2011, Autism Speaks.^{[citation needed]}

Leno arriving at the 45th Primetime Emmy Awards in his Hispano-Suiza Aero^[64]

Vehicle collection[link]

Leno owns approximately 100 vehicles, not including about 90 motorcycles.^[65] He also has a website called "Jay Leno's Garage," which contains video clips and photos of his automobiles in detail.^[66]

He has a regular column in Popular Mechanics which showcases his car collection and gives advice about various automotive topics, including restoration and unique models, such as his jet-powered motorcycle and solar-powered hybrid. Leno also writes occasional "Motormouth" articles for The Sunday Times,^[67] reviewing high-end sports cars and giving his humorous take on automotive matters.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jay Leno

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jay Leno

• Official Tonight Show with Jay Leno web site
• Jay Leno's Car Collection
• Jay Leno's Columns at Octane magazine
• The New York Times on Leno's affiliation with McPherson College
• Live performance videos from the Tonight Show
• Jay Leno at the Internet Movie Database