IN THIS FEATURE Stars and cars A case for Columbo Return of the King

Celebrities, and Hollywood celebrities in particular, have a love-hate relationship with cars. They love the speed. They love the excitement. They love the glamour of a beautiful car. But they feel guilty as hell because of the environmental issues of driving a big or fast machine.

Hollywood now seems to be obsessed with the Toyota Prius, which I think is a brilliant car but there is something inconsistent about a celebrity arriving in a private jet and then climbing into a Toyota Prius. You've now used more fuel in that one trip than most people use in a lifetime!

Jay plays around with one of his steam-powered cars

The big car guys in Hollywood are Nick Cage, Tim Allen and Jerry Seinfeld. Jerry's an expert on Porsches. He has a great collection, including the first and last generations of 911. Tom Cruise likes cars and he's into bikes too. John Travolta likes his cars with a side of planes. Ben Affleck too, he's into bikes. I hear Robbie Coltrane is into cars, and steam trains too. I'd like to meet him. I've got a few steam-powered cars.

Ewan McGregor is a true petrolhead. He was on my show a while ago and said he was thinking about riding around the world. And he actually pulled it off and went and did it. That's wonderful. I liked Ewan's enthusiasm. The first time he was on my show I brought in my jet bike - a motorcycle powered by a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter engine. He was like a kid in a sweet shop. My TV network wouldn't let him have a go on it, though. They didn't want to kill the star of Star Wars.

Jay's motorbike is powered by a helicopter engine; Ewan McGregor loved it

Cars and bikes are often the only way I can relate to celebrities. I'm not a big nightclub or restaurant guy... and don't do crack or whores... so it's hard to find common ground with a lot of them.

Most movie stars have no idea about cars, though. One star said to me after the show, "You're into cars, what should I buy?" I said: "The new Ferrari 360's hot." "Oh everyone's got a Ferrari," he said. I said, "Never ever ever say that! Not everyone has a Ferrari. Never say that, you'll get beaten to death on the streets!"