Thomas Gregory Michael Hnatiw (pronounced "Na-chew"; December 13, 1958 – 30 July 2012, in Oakville, Ontario, Canada) was a Canadian motor journalist and live motor race announcer. Tom Hnatiw was best known as co-presenter of the TV show

Dream Car Garage Dream Car Garage was a weekly television show produced by Westward Wind Productions for 11 seasons between 2002 and 2012. The series was produced in Halton Hills, Ontario. Its host was Peter Klutt, a car enthusiast and the owner of Legendary Moto ...

Speed Channel Speed was an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as aut ...

alongside

Peter Klutt Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

from 2000 to 2008. There he was famous for the phrase ''"Do you ''need'' a car like this? No. Do you ''want'' a car like this???"'' Further he was involved with the programmes ''Hard Drive'' and ''Sports Car Revolution''. He was the founder and owner of the ''Internal Combustion Group'', a television production company based around automotive programming. Altogether he was involved in the production of over 500 shows related to the automotive world and co-owner of a 5000 square-foot race shop. He wrote several widely read automotive columns and was featured in newspapers such as the

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

. He also was a well known live race announcer, e.g., for the '' SRT Viper Cup'' series of the

North American Road Racing Association North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, for which he also was a spokesperson. Hnatiw himself, raced for 15 years and was Canadian GT3 co-champion in 1998. On 30 July 2012 he died in a hospital in Oakville, Ontario from kidney failure, aged 53. He left behind his wife of 23 years Debbie and his two sons Nick and Wyatt. "His genuine passion for racing, concern for the well-being of drivers, and the way he made every competitor feel as welcome," said NARRA President Tom Antonelli in a farewell note. "His beaming smile, and that unmistakable voice, will be truly missed."

References

* *
SCCA: Longtime Announcer Tom Hnatiw Passes Away
', Speed TV, 5 August 2012. * NARRA President Tom Antonelli:
NARRA community mourns the loss of motorsport identity Tom Hnatiw
' (ca. 2012) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hnatiw, Tom Canadian journalists Canadian television hosts 1958 births 2012 deaths