This is going to be a fantastic summer for equipment news. Seriously, when I think of all the exciting equipment stuff coming down the pike, I get the shakes. Here’s a little sampling of what’s in store to whet your whistle:

• Next week in Ohio I’ll be driving the Kenworth T680 Advantage, said to deliver 5% better fuel economy than previous versions.
• In early July, I’ll be in Germany for Daimler’s IAA Press Preview. I don’t know what they’ll be discussing but I’m told it will have major ramifications for the global commercial vehicle industry.
• I’ll spend the weekend in Germany and then the very next week, visit with ZF, who’ll also be previewing some systems and technologies in advance of IAA. ZF?? Yes, it looks like they’re coming back into the North American truck market in some form or another.
• And later this summer – it’s a new truck! The Western Star 5700, with design cues borrowed from the Optimus Prime Transformer, is expected to be launched to the industry. It’s been a while since we’ve had an all-new model to fawn over.
• The Volvo VNX? A heavy-haul truck that drives like a highway tractor? Hoping to arrange a drive in a Canadian fleet truck.

Yep, these are good times to be a truck writer. Stay tuned to Trucknews.com for all the highlights this summer.