This here’s a story about a tractor called “Lil Tug.” Lil Tug is a New Holland Boomer that did duty in Jay Leno’s Garage for years. His story is about to enter a new chapter though since Jay has taken possession of a New Holland Boomer 8N! Lil Tug will be auctioned and the proceeds will go to the Fisher House Foundation. This photo is one I took in Jay’s Garage back in May of 2007. You can still listen to my interview with Jay. So let’s get back to the story (chapter 1), which was announced today at the Farm Progress Show.
You can listen to Abe Hughes, New Holland Agriculture Sales & Marketing Vice President, talk about the project during a press conference at the Farm Progress Show here: New Holland Press Conference Audio
It started four years ago when a little blue tractor rolled off of the New Holland assembly line in Dublin, Georgia, prepared to proudly face its future of doing the work it was built to accomplish. The little blue tractor knew it could faithfully carry out the smaller chores as it would watch the big muscle tractors leaving the machinery shed with the power needed to tackle those more demanding jobs in the fields that stretched to the horizons.
But, as fate would have it, the story didn’t quite turn out that way. Instead, the little blue tractor was placed on a truck and headed westward across the nation, past massive fields, over mountains, and finally taken off the truck outside of a large garage in Burbank, California. A short time later the little blue tractor was driven into the large garage and introduced to scores of vehicles of all ages, shapes and sizes — the likes of which it had never seen.
And so it was there, in the famous Jay Leno Garage, that the little blue tractor won over many friends during the following years as it dependably and gently pushed and pulled the other vehicles, guiding them to new locations within the garage whenever rearrangement was needed or vehicles needed servicing. The crew in the garage grew fond of the little blue tractor, which was especially excited when they carefully painted on the side of its shiny hood the name they had been calling it for months – The ‘Lil Tug! Life was good in the little blue tractor’s new home, the biodiesel fuel they fed it was great, and they even made certain that the ‘Lil Tug stayed shiny clean and presentable.
However, the day finally came when the ‘Lil Tug was to be retired when Jay Leno took possession this past May of a New Holland Boomer™ 8N, a limited edition tractor inspired by the legendary 8N tractor from the late 1940s. It was a beautiful tractor, but the ‘Lil Tug was worried about its own future — would it be lost, set aside, forgotten?
Instead, however, New Holland and Jay Leno are planning even bigger and more exciting events. The proudest and best days for the ‘Lil Tug are yet to happen. Soon it will glisten under the spotlights of a major auction from which its proceeds would be gifted to a charity that would bring honor to the legacy of the ‘Lil Tug.
In January of 2012, the ‘Lil Tug will sport an array of patriotic colors as it glistens under the spotlights of the prestigious and world renown Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Fisher House Foundation, best known for its network of comfort homes built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers, will be the recipient of the auction proceeds.
New Holland Agriculture, the equipment company that initially loaned the tractor for work in the garage, was pleased with the outcome. “Our decision to auction the ‘Lil Tug was greeted with great enthusiasm right from the very beginning,” says Abe Hughes, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for New Holland Agricultural Business in North America. “New Holland working together with Jay Leno, Barrett-Jackson and the Fisher House Foundation will be monumental,” adds Hughes. It’s going to be an exciting journey as we move forward toward the auction.”
Hughes, who met with Leno earlier this year, says New Holland is working closely with the Jay Leno team to make the ‘Lil Tug even more appealing as the auction approaches. “But we’re saving those surprises to be announced at a later date.”
In the meantime, the little blue tractor that came from humble beginnings in Georgia to become the ‘Lil Tug celebrity tractor is perhaps rehearsing its auction speech by repeating its mantra: “I Knew I Could! I Knew I Could! I Knew I Could!”
2011 Farm Progress Show Photo Album