Reuters and other news organizations are reporting that Jay Leno is being sued over a 1931 Duesenberg. It's a Duesy of a story. Here's an excerpt from Reuters:

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The estate of a Macy's department store heir has sued U.S. comedian and car collector Jay Leno, saying a Manhattan garage stole the heir's 1931 Model J Duesenberg and illegally sold it to Leno in 2005.

Two antique cars owned by John Strauss — the Duesenberg and a 1930 Rolls Royce — were kept in Manhattan's Windsor Garage for 50 years until 2005, when the garage put them up for auction without Strauss's knowledge, according to the lawsuit filed on Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court.

The garage said it took possession of the cars because Strauss owed $29,000 in parking fees, the lawsuit says.<< Full Reuters story here >>

Jay Leno owns a half dozen or so Duesenbergs. They include a bare Model J chassis that he's fitted with a seat so he can drive it legally on the street. "I love Duesenbergs," Leno says. "They were the first American cars to beat the Europeans at their own game. Fine cars of that era were mostly lumbering limousines with slow-revving engines. Duesenbergs had high-revving, double-overhead-cam, four-valve straight-8s. They were the fastest American cars until the Chrysler 300 letter series in the mid-1950s."Leno continues, "My favorite is my supercharged Murphy SJ disappearing-top roadster. The McLaren F1 of its day, it was stylish, sophisticated and very fast. And it still is." (Reference and a pic of Leno with one of his un-restored Duesenbergs).

Tags: 1931 Duesenberg, antique cars, car collector, double overhead cam, jay leno, Jay Leno sued, john strauss

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