You see them on the highways daily and now you can also see them in starring roles in a Hollywood blockbuster movie as Western Star and Freightliner make their presence felt in Hollywood blockbuster style.

Daimler Trucks hosted customers at a special 3D viewing of the new Transformers: Age of Extinction movie at Montecasino as the movie was released in South Africa. The fourth movie in the Transformers series is given an extra boost when the role of the vehicular lead character, Optimus Prime, morphs into a blinged-out Western Star.

The Western Star shares the screen with a Freightliner truck – but movie fans will need to watch the film to learn more about its character.

Godfrey Hani , marketing and sales divisional manager at Daimler Trucks South Africa, says, “Rugged and tough, commercial vehicle customers in South Africa choose purpose-built Western Star trucks when they need a highly specialised solution for heavy-duty applications both on and off-highway.  The Western Star takes on the most demanding applications, just as Optimus Prime takes on epic battles in the name of justice across the universe. Merging the two heroes in this movie thus makes perfect sense.”

Developed specifically for the new Michael Bay film by Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), many styling cues for the Optimus Prime character were leveraged from a new Western Star on-highway vehicle that will be unveiled in the USA later in 2014.

Andy Johnson, brand manager for Western Star at Daimler Trucks North America said, “When the producers of the film approached us to create the new Optimus Prime, we knew we already had the perfect truck in the works and that it would be an ideal partnership to showcase our dedication to engineering, design and building the most rugged and reliable trucks in the industry. Being a part of the Michael Bay Transformers film franchise is a unique opportunity where vehicles are stars, and we’re thrilled that Western Star is a major part of this iconic franchise.”

Similarly, the Freightliner truck that debuts in “Transformers: Age of Extinction” has been a stalwart of the Daimler Trucks commercial vehicle stable globally. In South Africa, these vehicles attract fanatical freight business owners due to the products flexibility to serve a wide range of industries and commercial applications. It is widely touted as the vehicle of choice for long-haul trucking.

For more information about the Western Star and Freightliner trucks from Daimler Trucks South Africa, please visit www.westernstar.co.za and www.freightliner.co.za respectively.