Caleb Miller aimed for a future in car design during his high school years. That goal might have become reality if both his parents had not worked as journalists.

He grew up in a household that valued reading and writing above all. Yet in a family with little interest in cars Miller alone carried the enthusiast gene that refuses to fade.

At age 13 he began blogging about automobiles mostly focusing on design. Time spent on his college paper sharpened his reporting abilities and as a senior he revived the blog he had paused after high school.

Eager to enter automotive journalism he reached out to Christian Seabaugh now a senior features editor at Motor Trend whom Miller followed on Instagram for guidance and received the tip to continue blogging. He followed through and it paid off.

After an unsuccessful bid for another Hearst Autos role Miller learned of an opening on the Car and Driver news desk. Before long he mastered the daily routines of automotive media work and also learned to operate a manual transmission.

Michael Simari|Car and Driver

Like many peers Miller had never learned to shift gears himself so he fixed that by buying a 2007 Honda Accord with a manual. Today his shifting skills are sharp and he balances multiple daily news pieces with time for full vehicle reviews.

I watched my dad handle exciting tasks such as taking a call from Ice Cube for an interview Miller recalls.

He hoped to enjoy similar moments tied to his automotive passion and he has. His achievements range from published stories to attending the Lexus High Performance Driving School the Skip Barber Racing School and meeting professional racers.

A dedicated motorsport follower whose favorite series is IndyCar with deep knowledge of it Miller has driven Honda IndyCar simulator and visited the Indy 500 plus the Daytona and Le Mans 24-hour races. He also ranks among our top sim racers.

His early interest in car design lingers in the background with sketches of striking vehicles scattered across his desk during brief breaks from filing urgent news.

Rich Ceppos has tested cars and technology across a path that includes a decade at General Motors two periods at Car and Driver adding to 20 years and countless miles in race cars. Music school led him to realize his true calling and it has worked out well. Between his C/D roles he served as executive editor of Automobile Magazine held an executive vice president post at Campbell Marketing and Communications worked in GM product development and became publisher of Autoweek. He has raced steadily since college earned SCCA and IMSA pro licenses and competed at the 24 Hours of Daytona. He now cares for a 1999 Miata and notes that none of his younger coworkers have said Okay Boomer during his tales of the wild early days at C/D.