When General Motors announced that some models were going to be postponed, I thought for sure the niche market G8 ST would be on the short list. It�s just such an oddball vehicle in the grand scheme of things, cool, but not a mainstream model like the Chevy Cruze that was pushed back a year due to cost cutting restraints. Fortunately for car-based pickup truck fans, or utes as they�re known in Australia where GM�s Holden division makes a version of this very truck, it�s on schedule for a 2010 model year launch later in 2009.
�There are no efforts to delay the truck,� commented Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson to PickupTrucks.com. �Construction is scheduled to start in July 2009, and the first G8 STs are expected to go on sale here in the fall of 2009.�
The point of its origins is the main reason why it�s not being held back. After all, Holden has done all the ground work for a vehicle that will sell in massive quantities, so why not revise it and rebrand it for the North American market? A sort of reborn El Camino, of sorts.
El Camino in mind, GM had a little marketing fun coming up with the new pickup�s name, creating some buzz about the product in the process. It only took 18,000 submissions, with most playing the �Tame the Name� game wanting the new sport truck to be dubbed El Camino, despite it being a Pontiac rather than a Chevy, and the winning submission was� ST. Yes, that�s the same name GM used when introducing the truck at the New York International Auto Show last March, and to be fair, it was popular among nominators too.
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