Driverlines Chatter
Tom Giacomini, president and CEO, Warn Industries
Drivelines: What kind of 4x4 do you own?
Tom Giacomini: I have a '94 Jeep YJ with a fuel-injected Chevy LT1, Advance Adapters Atlas transfer case, a handbuilt XCL suspension, Dana 60 rear axle, Detroit Lockers front and rear, and 38.5-inch Super Swampers. It's built for all-around use, not just for rockcrawling. I've been 'wheeling for about 20 years, and I like to take my family; we like to do all types of off-roading activities. My favorite spot and event is the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab. The other one I really enjoy is the Pacific Northwest 4WD event in Naches, Washington.
DL: What's Warn's most popular product right now?
TG: Currently it's the 9.5ti winch. It's a great, very high-performance winch that looks really rugged and powerful on a vehicle. It really makes a statement about the capability of that vehicle.
DL: How has your business changed in the past five years?
TG: It has grown so rapidly. The off-road industry, and the sport, have just taken off. We're very excited to be a participant in this industry and really encouraged about the number of young people coming into the sport. When I started 'wheeling, lots of people involved in the hobby had been doing it since the '60s. Now there's a real resurgence of young people, and that's great.
DL: What might people not know about Warn that would surprise them?
TG: A lot of 4WD and AWD powertrains under trucks and SUVs have Warn products in them. We design and engineer those systems in-house for the automakers. Our customers include Ford, GM, DaimlerChrysler, Nissan, Kia, Hyundai, the list goes on. So Warn has a very sophisticated product development department, with tools that those manufacturers require. We bring those design strengths and rigorous quality standards from the auto industry to the aftermarket. Warn products are manufactured with the same high quality as OEs around the world.
DL: What trends do you see in the hobby?
TG: We're seeing a trend for people who really cross over with their activities, go off-road as one activity and combine it with other activities, like hunting, fishing, camping. In terms of product, we see people looking for multifunction products for their vehicles. Which is one of the reasons we developed the PowerPlant [Warn's latest product, which combines a winch with an air compressor in one unit], to address one of those key aspects: If you're going off-road, whether for work or pleasure, you're really going to need compressed air on your vehicle.
Diesel Digest
* GM has announced it will introduce a new, light-duty V-8 turbodiesel for North America after 2009 that improves fuel efficiency by 25 percent. It will be a dual-overhead cam, four-valve V-8 that will fit in the same space as a small-block gas V-8, thanks to a narrow engine block and integrated air system
* Rumors persist that just about every other truck maker, including Toyota and Nissan, is looking into light-duty diesels for their trucks too
* The American Petroleum Institute (API) has created a new diesel motor oil category, API CJ-4, for '07-and-later trucks using the new ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel, to protect against engine wear, piston deposits, soot, oil foaming and aeration, viscosity loss, and to minimize the blocking of diesel particulate filters, which are key in making these engines meet new emissions regulations. Shell has announced a new Rotella T motor oil designed to meet, or exceed, the new API CJ-4 specifications
* The diesel land-speed record has been upped from 235 to almost 329 mph. British pilot Andy Green set the record at Bonneville in a streamlined vehicle powered by two 4.4L four-cylinder diesel backhoe engines that produce a combined 1,500 hp. (That's some backhoe.) Green also holds the world's absolute land-speed record, a supersonic 763 mph.