Start packing the
car truck, we're leaving today - to grab a front row seat at the New
York Auto Show for General Motors’ press
conference.
Very reliable
sources have told PickupTruck.com that the production Pontiac G8 ST
(Sport Truck), based on Holden's
VE Ute, will bow in the Big Apple
in late March during the NY Auto Show’s media days. WO0t!
The decision
to move forward with the G8 ST was made even though there are still
lingering concerns inside GM about the exchange rate between the Australian
and U.S. dollars. If the U.S. dollar had continued to weaken against
the Aussie buck recently, the price for the imported Ute
would have been too high for the market.
This news
follows GoAuto.com’s
Lutzian scoop last week that a four-door GMC-badged ‘Crewman’ Ute
concept would also appear at the NY Auto Show. Now, other online sources
are reporting that the GMC pickup concept will instead appear at the
Chicago Auto Show early next month. We’ll
keep our pens sheathed on that point. There’s an embargo, dontcha
know.
Last
year our sources also gave us the official name of the Pontiac
G8 ST and news that only a 361-hp V8 would be offered, starting at
$31,000 USD. The name remains the same but a lower-priced 256-hp V6
version of the ST will also be available.
Here’s why.
The recently
cancelled Pontiac G8 version of Holden's VE Sportwagon was only
going to be available with a V6 for CAFE reasons, to
offset the G8 ST’s V8 fuel economy rating. But with the wagon
gone, the Ute will have to average out CAFE on its own. Hence, the V6
has been added. Good news for G8 ST owners looking for a cheaper
Ute to park in their driveways.
Want
to learn more about the history of utility-class pickups? Check out
our look back at
these car-based haulers.
