CARISTAS

    In view of our discussion of trucks and badges, I can't resist offering a repeat view of a vehicle first presented here in March 2009. Though it bears the brands of many manufacturers — including, of course, Hino — it is in fact a KAMAZ.    And a spiffy one, at that.

  Photographed this fine Fiat truck in Santa Cruz del Norte, one of my favourite vehicle-spotting towns.    Except it isn’t a Fiat, is it? It’s a Citroën. No, a Hino. In fact, this customized camion is a KAMAZ (that “3” in the truck’s true nameplate is, to English-speakers, a Z) from the Kamskiy Avtomobilny Zavod, a manufacturer in Tartarstan, part of the Russian Federation.     KAMAZ , which started production in 1976 and is described as Russia’s largest truck manufacturer, builds a tough machine – its entries have won their category in the Dakar Rally eight times. For another view, click here .