I love trucks. I have loved trucks, buses, and cars ever since I was, well, I don't even remember how old, but let's just say that I think the highlight of kindergarten for me was getting a tour of the school bus garage. Like any self-respecting guy, I love cars and motorcycles and other stuff that drives, and I have my own dream car (two actually--an Audi R8 or a 1972 GTO), but my real love is for trucks and buses. Dump trucks, tankers, garbage trucks, reefers, car carriers, semis, fire trucks, doubles and triples, cement mixers, cab overs, sleepers, over-the-road buses--I love them all. 

Russia is a good place for a truck lover. Russian trucks are no-frills workhorses that are built for plying rough roads with big loads in all kinds of nasty weather. The Kamaz rules the world of the Russian truck. The name Kamaz is derived from the name of a factory (Kamskiy Avtomobilniy Zavod), and these trucks are made in the city of Naberezhniye Chelny. These trucks are big, heavy, and break any Western emissions regulation. They aren't all dressed up and chromed to the hilt like modern American trucks, but they are built to do work, not to win a beauty contest. Besides, there is something cool about these brutes. Kamaz trucks are modified to do all kinds of jobs, and even the Russian army uses modified Kamaz trucks in their operations. Here are some pictures of the tough Russian Kamaz in action.