Sports car for a sports guy

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RON MacLEAN

Profession: Broadcaster, Hockey Night In Canada and co-host of Battle of the Blades

Age: 50

Hometown: Red Deer, Alta.

Notable achievements: He has eight Gemini Awards - four for best sports broadcaster; two for his work on HNIC, one for The Legends of Hockey and one for the Summer Olympics in Atlanta

Upcoming: Hockey Night in Canada on CBC; he's also co-hosting the second season of CBC's reality series, Battle of the Blades, which pairs figure skaters with former NHL players.

He's the face of Hockey Night in Canada - the voice of reason next to Don Cherry on Coach's Corner. Gemini Award-winning sportscaster Ron MacLean is a hockey guy at heart - he likes muscle power on the ice and on the road. That's why he drives a 1986 Ford Mustang GT Cobra.

Why did you buy a Mustang?

We bought two cars in 1986 just before I started at Hockey Night In Canada. We were moving east to Toronto from Calgary. I bought myself a 1986 Thunderbird V-8 and my wife Cari a Mustang GT Cobra in fire-engine red.

It's an automatic. Both of us felt a little more comfortable city driving with an automatic transmission. Neither of us were great car people knowing in a sense what to do with standard. I can drive one if I'm forced to.

It was her car first and we just never let it go. She loved it, but not as much as I did. I always looked at Cari's car with great envy. Finally when she got sick of it and wanted something a little more civilized it morphed into my car.

What do you like about your car?

There's no question: the acceleration. The power of the V-8 engine is its best feature.

And the T-roof - you don't see a lot of T-roofs. It's a great feature now because I don't have air conditioning. I haven't updated the old freon air conditioning yet. So I need that thing open!

I'd upgrade the stereo. But I have a new cassette deck now. The young kids will like that.

What does a 24-year-old Mustang GT Cobra say about you?

It's a desperate attempt to be 26 again.

It's nowhere near the class of Ferraris or Lamborghinis, but it's amazing how many people often comment on the car. It tells me I'm lucky to have it. I don't think of it as an extension of me so much as I'm glad that the car got to stay in the same family for all that time.

If you ski, you know the greatest feeling in the world is taking off your ski boots. My only comparison is getting out of my suit and tie.

And there's something about getting into the Mustang for the first time each year that's tantamount to putting on flip flops. It's just the greatest sign that summer is on its way. I hold on to that quite dearly. I think the Mustang represents the summer.

What was your first car?

I got a big white Dodge Coronet from my dad - all the police used to drive them.

It was a '74, but I got it in '78-'79. It was a gorgeous white car with a blue interior. And I was very proud of that car. I had a car that the cops drove so I felt like I was on the hunt.

What's your most embarrassing moment on the road?

In '86, I bought a black Thunderbird with a red interior. It was a really nice car. I got to drive it across Canada when I moved to start my career at Hockey Night in Canada. I have a brand-new car and I'm coming to my new home and we barely have enough money and I hadn't noticed there were no appliances.

So just outside of Sault Ste. Marie on the drive across Canada, I collided with a woman named Sandra Tonelli, who was the cousin of hockey player John Tonelli. I was going 100 km on cruise control and realized there was a car stopped dead up ahead and I hit the brakes, but I couldn't stop on time. I crumpled my right front fender into her passenger door. So the insurance company dropped me, I had to get the car fixed, we had no appliances - what a start to Hockey Night in Canada!"

Is there a relationship between hockey and sports cars?

Kurt Browning (his co-host on Battle of the Blades) always said figure skates are luxury cars and hockey skates are sports cars. If you imagine the ride of a sports car over the ride of a luxury car, you'll understand the difference between the two skate blades - figure and hockey.

I think that was a great analogy because this Mustang is jarring. You have to be ready for the bumps and it's very much like hockey whereas if you get into a luxury car and smooth out the ride and get the power up - not so much that quick burst of zero to 60 in a hurry, but the smooth top-end speed of a luxury car.

It's a perfect analogy.

So what would be your figure skate car?

I'd have to say something from Mercedes-Benz. I don't know enough about the Mercedes to tell you which model. I would get one of their new high-end luxury cars - it would probably be a dream car for me.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

pgentile@globeandmail.com