Quick Stats: Alonzo Bodden Comic/Host of "101 Cars You Must Drive"
Daily Drivers: 2006 Hummer H2 SUT (Alonzo's rating 10 on a scale of 1 to 10) and 2003 Mini Cooper S (Alonzo's rating 9 on a scale of 1 to 10)
Favorite road trip: Los Angeles to Vegas
Car he learned to drive in: 1969 Chevrolet Nova
First car bought: 1967 Chevrolet Camaro
It may sound like an odd choice for a comedian to host "101 Cars You Must Drive," but for Alonzo Bodden, it was in the stars. Or just chalk it up to Google.
The winner of Season 3 of NBC's "Last Comic Standing" is a gearhead, having been a jet mechanic and a motorcyclist since he was 18. But producers of the Speed TV show, based on "365 Cars You Must Drive" by Motor Trend executive editor Matt Stone and auto journo John Matras, did not know he was a car enthusiast.
"I found out after I got the show, how I got the show -- Stan Rardon and Bob Eisenstaedt Googled 'comic' and 'car' and Jay Leno and Adam Carolla's names both came up and they're both doing shows, so they Googled 'comic' and 'mechanic' and my name came up," Bodden says.
They went to see Bodden do standup and introduced themselves afterward. Bodden signed on. They didn't know Bodden from the NBC reality show. "You know who knew me? The producer's daughters. I don't think Stan has watched anything other than Speed Channel in the last five years," Bodden laughs.
Each episode of "101 Cars You Must Drive" has a theme and a creative title. "The Bird Is the Word" episode features cars such as a Thunderbird, a Studebaker Golden Hawk, and a Chrysler Turbine car.
The script gives Bodden facts like the car's design and production runs, but the whole point of having a comic is his flair for ad libbing. "I do a lot of improv," Bodden laughs. "Anything you laugh at -- that was mine, they didn't write it."
On the episode with the edgy title "Wankels and Wankers," Bodden says, "I even made a joke about that, like, 'if you want to know the meaning of Wanker, ask a British guy.'"
As one of the comics who tried out for the coveted job that went to Adam Carolla on NBC's "Top Gear," a car show for Bodden is a happy coincidence. Car enthusiasts might think Bodden's gig is the top job -- getting to drive some of the world's most exotic cars. "My favorite is the Dino Ferrari, maybe because it was the first Ferrari I've ever driven," he says. "It was fast, it was tight, and it has a feel to it -- like you're in a Ferrari."