Western Star Trucks recently received the "1999 Australian Truck of the Year" award for the design of its Constellation 5964SS conventional.

The award, which acknowledges the most outstanding new truck release of the year, included tractors with engine outputs between 450 and 550 bhp which could legally couple to a B-Double trailer set. Mack, International, and Volvo also had trucks in the competition. Each truck underwent rigorous performance testing at the Mt. Cotton test grounds in Queensland, Australia and on a road course from Brisbane to Toowoomba and Warwick.
The nine days of testing included a road course which took the trucks, hauling the B-Double set loaded to 52 tonnes GCM, through both city and country driving applications including a descent on a maximum grade slope. Other considerations included driver comfort, purchase price, ease, cost and frequency of servicing, durability, warranty conditions, suitability for intended functions, and likely resale values.
The Constellation 5964SS ('Super Star') is one of five Western Star Constellation models introduced to the Australian market since May 1998.