• The Hollywood Reporter, Tuesday, July 7, 2009 9:24 PM

Jay Leno's new show will come from a soundstage specially fitted to accommodate his expensive autos. Leno's new 10 p.m. show will be taped in a studio that is even larger than the 17,000 square-foot garage that houses Leno's car collection. The stage for Leno's former "Tonight Show" was about 5,000 square feet smaller than the new stage.

Leno might be using his car collection as a Trojan horse to position his show as the place to advertise automobiles. If so, "it would be a natural product placement because Leno is such a car freak; people know and like that about him," says Barbara Lippert, Adweek ad critic. "If the strategy takes off, no one would consider him a sellout."

A somewhat similar strategy worked in the 1950s for NBC and Chevrolet with "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show." Shore strolled onstage and sang, "See the USA in your Chevrolet" in front of a giant photo of a Chevy.

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