Big Mack for a heavy-duty star

IF NOT for a nun in an old station wagon, John Howard could still be wandering the Outback looking for Mount Isa.  This is one of many motoring stories for one of Australia's most prolific and beloved actors, who plays Dr Frank Campion on Seven's drama All Saints and also fronts the stories on Real Seachange series.

Howard is a 55-year-old actor who graduated from NIDA in 1978 and went on to star in top-rating televisions series Seachange -- a role which won him the 2001 Silver Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actor -- Changi, Always Greener and numerous feature films including Jindabyne, A Man's Gotta Do, Japanese Story, The Man Who Sued God, Dating The Enemy and The Club.

He rates the Amalfi Coast in Italy as his favourite drive and has a Citroen in the garage. But Howard reckons if he won Lotto, he would buy a Mack truck.  So you have been warned.

What was your first car?
Vauxhall Victor.

What do you drive now?
Citroen C4 HDi turbodiesel.

Do you have a favourite drive and who would you take?
The Amalfi Coast with my beautiful wife Kim Lewis.

How far would you drive in an average year?
20,000km.

Do you have a favourite motoring memory?
Returning from Chatsworth cattle station, in far-west Queensland, we broke down miles from nowhere. We were rescued by a nun in a Holden station wagon who took us into Mount Isa.

What would you buy if money was no object?
A great big Mack Truck.

What music is playing in your car?
Mariza!

How much is too much for a new car?
A car's worth is in one's enjoyment of it. It's hard to enjoy a mountain of debt on wheels.

What should be done to make driving safer?
Annual psychiatric tests for the nuts behind the wheel!

Are you sponsored by a car company?
Je le souhaite! Which is French for I wish -- are you listening Citroen?