This is odd. Is Turin such a boring town that, rather than take a turn around the shops, attend a Juventus match or eat in one of any number of rather fine restaurants, some of its residents are driven to design new tractor units for want of something better to do? We find this most unlikely. Have they not heard of bookstores? Or Rai Uno?

But here in all of its glory is the new Stralis, which arrives complete with the most high-profile marketing campaign we've ever seen for a heavy truck. A major sponsorship deal - the All Blacks - and talk of television advertising during various F1 events. A travelling roadshow that will take the new truck throughout Europe and extol its virtues at every point. Lavish launches, lavish lunches and a vast amount of money spent. All for a product that - by some accounts - was not needed in the first place. Huh?

Let's do some deconstruction. First, some facts. New Stralis is a Euro 5-only product. Just about, at any rate. Iveco now has a (ahem) new, EU-compliant heavy truck that it can sell through to Euro 6. That, we reckon, is a five-year window, possibly a bit more. It's also knocking out the new Eurotrakker range at the upcoming Bauma construction equipment show. Two launches in as many months, and we assume the heavy rigid will have a similar bias towards Euro 5.

Something to do with the current row between SCR and EGR protagonists, maybe? A chance to apply some pressure to MAN and its Euro 4 offering?

No. The only thing that can be said of the current SCR/EGR waffling match is that it is bollocks. It is also good reason for taking all of the OEMs and banging their heads together. Here was a perfect opportunity to present a united front to the EU, tell them how it was going to be done and mitigate some of the damage caused by the 30 per cent of total R&D spend that now goes on compliance with EU emissions tripe. Did they take this opportunity? - of course not, and we expect nothing better. Another example of the joyous imbecility that pervades the truck biz, and a highly tedious one to boot. But we digress.

Iveco now has a heavy range that is good through 'til 2012 or so. In other news, it is inches away from signing a van deal in the US. It has squared up - as much as such a thing is possible - its China business, and is now making a cautious start in India. Latin America also looks to be stable as far as the Turinese are concerned, meaning a whole lot of ticked boxes.

But here's the kicker. Iveco looks very uncomfortable around heavy trucks. Ironic, certainly, as the new Stralis is the most fundamentally competent Iveco plus-18-tonner we've ever seen. It is, finally, a true contender, and should give serious cause for thought. In a rational world, Iveco would have capacity issues.

But maybe one that has arrived too late. Away from fact, and onto supposition: what if the whole brouhaha surrounding the launch of Stralis v2 is just a gamble? All of the chips are on (All) Black(s), and the wheel is spinning. If it works, hurrah. If it doesn't, the pearl-handled revolver will get an airing on the terrace. New Stralis could be - and apologies for mixing gambling metaphors here - the last roll of the dice.

If this fails, we do not believe that we will see son of Stralis, or scion of Eurotrakker. Iveco will revert to its core competencies: sub 18-tonne commercial vehicles, vans and engines. It is very good at all three.

Such a move would also be very intriguing in terms of the dark horse that is Fiat Powertrain Technologies, or FPT. We know of this organisation, but we don't know much about it. However, during 2006, it produced 2.8 million engines, and 2.1 million transmissions. Big numbers.

FPT is now the powerbroker within Fiat's CV business - which includes Iveco. An Iveco focussed at the sub-18-tonne level will only serve to increase FPT's clout; at some point, it will do a deal - we have no doubt - with a European van manufacturer that has an engine design and build capability not so biased towards the lighter end. Meaning yet more volume, and yet more influence.

An Iveco without a heavy truck. Something of a Penn without a Teller, a Richards without a Jagger, and uncomfortable for Fiat. More supposition follows.

The only thing funnier than the SCR versus EGR debate available in this business at present is Ferdinand Piëch's attempt to force a merger between MAN and Scania. Whatever happens, Piëch will find himself possessed of a lump of both MAN and Scania. He'll keep Scania - if only so he can retain the option of posting Leif Östling somewhere very unpleasant.

MAN, on the other hand - Piëch will have no use for it. But Sergio Marchionne might just find a space for the German OEM. Its acquisition would allow Iveco to fill the gap above 18 tonnes. Both OEMs are engine specialists, and so there is a huge R&D synergy potential. Factor in MAN's friend Navistar - and we assume that it is with either Dan Ustian or Paccar's Mark Pigott that Iveco van talks are taking place. We hope it's the former, because WooHoo, Iveco-MAN-Navistar. QED.

QED and then some. Iveco is happy doing what it is good at, and FPT is the engine builder to catch. Think of it - in these terms - almost as a management company, drawing together disaparate bits of the CV business. MAN is possibly less happy, but still engaged in healthy and fruitful pursuits, and at the very least is kept out of trouble and off the streets. A starring role in Law & Order SVU becomes less likely. China's sorted, Latin America's sorted, and - whilst MAN's fumble with Force Motors and Navistar's dalliance with Mahindra International might cause an Iveco/Tata deal to stumble - on balance it's about as elegant a solution as you'll get in these troubled times.

Iveco now has five years' breathing space before Euro 6, and we hope that it will use the same wisely. We would advise the Munchenois to spring for an Italian language course. Iveco didn't need to touch the Stralis, but Marchionne did need to force the issue.

Consider it forced, and, to our way of thinking, forced in a very smart direction. In time, Marchionne's strategic process for Fiat will become a core study module in any MBA course.

Until then, however, we've little else to do but wait and watch. The die is cast.