Name: Gavin Crawford
Why’s he famous: A Gemini Award-winning Canadian comedian and actor, best known as one of the stars of CBC’s hit show This Hour Has 22 Minutes — a role he’s held for the past seven years. Crawford is currently starring on-stage in the Theatre Calgary’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
What he drives: A 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid.
Why the Escape? I tend to be an early adopter of technology (laughs). Well, the hybrid thing seemed pretty neat to me and we were doing a lot of work on our house at the time so we needed something that was big so that we could haul stuff. But I didn’t want to get a giant gas-guzzler. Being a hybrid, it allowed us the room without being monstrously fuel-inefficient.
The Escape’s best feature: One of the cool things is the little computer thing that shows you how much gas mileage you’re getting, so you can turn it on and become a really annoying gas-conscious driver (laughs). No gunning away from stoplights, just going around at a reasonable pace to maximize your gas mileage. It sort of becomes a fun game to play — maybe not for the people behind you though.
Are you a car guy? I do like cars. I haven’t bought a lot of cars. But when I buy a car, I tend to research it a lot and figure out what I’m going to want for the next little while. I had a Volkswagen Jetta for a while which I really liked, and I had a Golf. Both standards. I like standard. The only problem with the Ford Escape is it’s an automatic. My next car, I’ll probably go back to standard. It’s just more fun.
Dream car: I’d probably get one of those Audi TTs just to have a racing car.
What kind of driver are you? I’m a defensive driver. I do love driving though. I’ve driven across Canada and America. Everywhere you can drive on this continent, I’ve pretty much driven. When I was working in L.A., we drove from Toronto to L.A. and back about six times. That was when I had the Golf. It had a lot of miles on it.
Heather Buchan is a Toronto-based journalist whohas worked at Homemakers,Canadian Living, Canadian House & Homeand, most recently,Hello! Canada, where she cut her teeth in the world of celebrities.
