Automotive News Canada - July 2018 - v2 - 8

* JULY 2018

Crashworthiness tests need to be worthy
By JIL McINTOSH

OSHAWA CORRESPONDENT

ALEXANDRE
MAILLOUX

COLLECTING CRASH DATA
TO KEEP CANADIANS SAFE
AT PMG TECHNOLOGIES'
test centre in Blainville, Que.,
Alexandre Mailloux is looking out for Canadian drivers. He's an instrumentation
technologist at the facility,
which performs crash tests,
fuel-consumption evaluation,
and dynamic testing for such
clients as Transport Canada,
automakers and private companies.
"My job is to be between the
test and delivering the data,"
Mailloux said. "I make the
measurements for speed, force,

Alexandre Mailloux's work
with instrumentation is vital
for accurately collecting and
delivering vehicle test data.
PHOTO: ALEXANDRE MAILLOUX

temperature, all the physical
aspects that are happening to
the car. I need to know the correct instruments to use to be
able to acquire accurate, precise data and then deliver that
data to my customer."
After studying electronic design in college, Mailloux
worked in industrial automation for a company that
made packaging machines.
His career path included
a bio-electronic company
where he worked on an electronic stethoscope for doctors with hearing issues; and
as a mechanical designer, he
helped to create licence-plate
recognition cameras that are
now used around the globe.
When he saw that PMG was
looking for someone with his
type of experience, he applied
for the position. He started
there five years ago.
For each type of test,
Mailloux has to select the right
instrument, correctly configure it, install it effectively in
the vehicle and interpret the
data.
"We need to be at the kickoff of the project, and we are
inside the testing from the
start until the end of the test,"
he said. For crash testing, he
collects such information as
acceleration and force, the
pressure on the seat belt and
the angle of the steering wheel.
"My job is important
because it's a big part of the
test result that we deliver to
the customer. I take part in the
safety of Canadians, and build

MARY LEIGH
BURROWES

MAKING CARS JUST
RIGHT FOR CANADIANS

Alex Gates with the last remaining Kennedy, a car built in
Ontario in 1909 and 1910. P H O T O : J I L M c I N T O S H

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trust in our regulations, our
work, and our impact on vehicle safety."

ALEXANDER GATES

LOOKING AHEAD TO
PRESERVING CANADA'S PAST
AUTOMAKERS LOOK AHEAD,
but Alex Gates knows that the
past also must be preserved.
He's the executive director
and curator of the Canadian
Automotive Museum in

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Oshawa, Ont.
"It's the most significant
Canadian collection for the
rarity of some of
the vehicles, along
with their provenance and their
relationships to
important Canadian
events," he said.
The museum owns
several cars built
exclusively in
Canada, including a
McKay, BrockvilleAtlas and Brooks
Steamer, as well as
a Rolls-Royce used for a royal
tour in Montreal in 1919.
Originally from the United
States, Gates studied international relations there, then
did graduate work in museum studies at the University
of Toronto. He was running
a small museum in Michigan
when the Canadian museum
hired him.
Opened in 1963 and housed
in a 1920s car dealership, the
museum was looking tired
when Gates arrived in 2014.
Since then, he's improved the
exterior, increased vehicle
maintenance and added bilingual information panels. In
conjunction with Oshawa's
library system, much of the
museum's extensive book and
magazine collection is now
available electronically to the
public.
"The challenge I inherited
is the space," Gates said. "We
have 18,000 square feet (1,700
square metres), which is sizeable for a museum gallery,
but for automobiles it feels
cramped. We're making it
look more airy and bright."
Funding is another issue:
the non-profit museum isn't
supported by governments
or automakers and Gates has
procured grants for much of
the updating.
"The goal is to represent
Canadian automobiles on
an international level," he
said. "Compared to the 300plus American collections,
there are only a handful of
Canadian ones. I'm trying to
curate a collection that tells
our story and isn't just a treasure box of the shiniest or
most expensive cars. We want
people to see themselves in
the stories of these cars."

CANADIAN CUSTOMERS
want specific vehicle features,
and it's Mary Leigh Burrowes'
job to know what they are. As
manager of product planning
for Honda and Acura Canada,
she makes sure everything
meets their requirements.
"We're involved right from
the beginning stages of design
all through development, and
it's our job to make sure the
vehicles we're bringing to
market are in line with our
corporate vision," she said.
"From inception to birth with
these vehicles, I have a team of
product planners that I work
with to focus on the needs of
Canadian customers."
Burrowes studied psychology
and mass communication at York
University in
Toronto.
"I didn't have
autos in my sight
when I graduated
in 2001. "I got out of
school and it was a
tough time to find
jobs, so I temped,"
which is how she
ended up at Honda Canada,
working to bring the electronic parts catalogue online.
She planned to return to
school but quickly discovered
she was right where she wanted to be.
"It was a dynamic, growing place, and I liked the product and the people. I looked for
full-time opportunities to stay
there."
The first available position was administrative assistant at the Toronto zone office,
where she got to know dealers. She moved to marketing,
then became the Canadian representative at the company's
Ohio office. "We were a new
group made up of salespeople,
manufacturing, r&d and purchasing, and we were a thinktank doing global sales strategy. I then moved to our Los
Angeles office and learned
North American sales strategy there before returning to
Canada this year for my current job.
"Honda has given me
amazing opportunities to see
all sides of the company,"
she said. "It's what makes us
strong employees." - ANC

Mary Leigh Burrowes said her
company experience across
North American heightened
her knowledge of what customers want.
PHOTO: HONDA CANADA

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - July 2018 - v2