Vintage car buff Jay Leno is helping keep the tradition alive.
"The Tonight Show" host is financing a scholarship to put student mechanics through the two-year auto restoration program at McPherson College in Kansas.The comedian announced the scholarship Friday in California, where he was being honored at the 1997 Meguiar's Award ceremony as the Collector Car Hobby's Person of the Year.
The small Kansas school claims its two-year automotive restoration program is unique.
"He wants to pass on the love of antique cars to the next generation," said Bob Knechel, director of development at McPherson College. "As he looks around at many of the hobbyists, he sees that many of them are getting older."
The scholarship will be called the Fred Duesenberg Memorial Scholarship, named for the automobile engineer of the 1920s and 1930s. It will be awarded in the fall of 1998.