Faces of GM

Trent: Racing to the Finish Line

February/9/2010 at 10:06 am

Trent and the Volt in Death Valley

Trent Warnke, Development and Validation Engineer, Milford Proving Grounds

Grab my boat shoes: I love any water-activity, whether it’s cruising on my family’s speedboat, wakeboarding or water-skiing.

And My Oscar Goes To: Guy Ritchie. I like every one of his movies. Snatch, Fight Club and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels are my top three favorites.

Book I would want on a deserted island: Anything written by Dan Brown. Right now I’m really into his newest book, The Lost Symbol.

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had a fascination with cars. Though I wasn’t sure how or in what capacity, I always knew I’d somehow wind up working with them. I grew up in Bowling Green, Ohio, and received my mechanical engineering degree at Kettering University in Flint, Mich. After graduation, I traveled overseas to Stuttgart, Germany where I received my master’s degree in automotive mechatronics — which is really just a fancy word for studying mechanical electronic devices, like hybrids.

During my time in Germany, I wrote my master’s thesis for Bosch, where I was responsible for the development and testing of stability and traction control software. Basically, I worked on the software for braking systems. After about a year with Bosch, I applied for a position within the hybrid group at GM. During my first year, I had the opportunity to work on a two-mode hybrid system. I was responsible for overseeing the powertrain components – testing the various parts and making sure they worked properly. My job was every guy’s dream – I would literally drive around and try to break the car. Donuts? Check! Burnouts? You bet!

Now I’m working on the Chevrolet Volt, the car that’s going to be a major game-changer for the industry. My job is to make sure the vehicle is meeting all performance and safety requirements. Just like in my previous position, I do this by trying to “break” the vehicle. If a component fails, we determine how and why and then repair the problem before the car goes into production.

In addition to performance and safety validation, I also work with GM’s hot and cold-weather testing team to ensure the Volt will perform efficiently in all climates. From the heat of Death Valley to the sub-zero temperatures of Kapuskasing, Canada, we make sure the vehicle can withstand the harshest of weather.

When I’m not working, you can usually find me with my buddies getting an old “beater” car ready for the annual LeMons Race. Each year, we find a car for under $500, fix it up and race it for 24 hours straight. With six drivers per team, we each take 1-2 hour shifts. Some years we finish; others we don’t. Unfortunately, last year our engine blew up after just a few hours. We were able to find a replacement and swap the engine, but after another 3 hours, it blew up again. But what can I say? It’s worth it every year!