Yahoo Autos A Talk with Michelin's Test Driver, Mike New
From the September/October issue of Car and Driver.
Mike New has one of the best jobs in the automotive industry. He manages the subjective test drivers at Michelin's Laurens Proving Grounds. What exactly does that mean? New and his team test and give feedback on tires Michelin is developing. And yes, these drives very often involve pushing the tires to their limits of adhesion. We struggle to think of a better way to make a living, aside from working at Car and Driver.
Car and Driver: What makes a great subjective test driver?
Mike New: The main thing we look at is car control and how natural a feel someone has for handling a car in at-the-limit situations.
Is car control instinctive, or is it a skill that can be developed?
Some people are naturally gifted at it. Some people can learn it very quickly.
What's a typical day like for a subjective test driver at Michelin?
It varies. It really just depends on what day of the week it is. We're always working. There's no downtime. If we're not testing or going testing, then there's a lot of things to do: training the new drivers, doing continuous training for the current drivers, working on progress initiatives. As a manager, I'm focusing on making sure the drivers have what they need, making sure we provide the right driver resources to the right automakers, and making sure we have coverage for this event or that event.
How do you become a subjective test driver?
The biggest thing is awareness—being aware that this job is out there and understanding the requirements to apply. If you want to be a test driver at Michelin, you have to have an engineering degree. I get a lot of people who are very interested in the test-driver position, but they don't know that they have to have an engineering degree to be able to do the job.
Some product highlights of Mike New's career developing tires for automakers and the replacement-tire market:
2010–15 Camaro’s BFGoodrich Radial T/A Spec tires
2009–13 Corvette ZR1’s Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires
2009–15 CTS-V’s Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires
BFGoodrich G-Force R1 DOT-legal track tire
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