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Our friends over at Pickuptruck.com have learned that Pontiac will debut a production-ready ST pickup at this year’s New York Auto Show in late March. The Pontiac ST pickup is based on the Holden VE Ute that recently debuted in Australia, and since development of the vehicle consists mainly of grafting the Pontiac G8 front clip onto the Holden VE Ute, the business case for the vehicle is a no-brainer. What did stand between the Pontiac ST pickup and production was the U.S. exchange rate between the Australian and U.S. dollar, but apparently the difference isn’t as bad as once thought and the price of the ST won’t be out of reach for its target market. Pickuptruck.com also learned that, despite previous reports to the contrary, the Pontiac ST will be offered with a 256-HP V6, as well as a 361-HP V8. The reason is because plans for a Pontiac G8 Sportwagon that would have been powered by a V6 have been cancelled, so the Pontiac needs to offer both a V6 and a V8 for the ST pickup to balance out the effect it has on GM’s CAFE rating.Don’t all these unibody pickups in GM’s product plans get you thinking? If we were to consult some tea leaves, we might draw the conclusion that GM is considering transforming its small pickups into an all-unibody lineup. It’s pure speculation on our part, but to debut two unibody trucks in one auto show season makes us go hmmm…

[Source: Pickuptruck.com]

Hyundai is quickly proving with its Genesis luxury sedan that a lower-end Asian automaker can play in the V8-powered big leagues, and if the reports are to be believed, Suzuki wants in. The Japanese carmaker’s Kizashi concepts, unveiled in Frankfurt and Tokyo last year, proved popular enough for Suzuki to move ahead with production plans and target a late 2009 roll-out. But before it settles on what form the production version will take, Suzuki is reportedly preparing a third iteration to show at the New York Auto Show in March, and this one will be powered by a V8 driving all four wheels, compared to its turbodiesel and V6 predecessors. Whether there’s any truth to the reports will become evident as we weave through Manhattan traffic towards the Javits Center, so stay tuned.

[Source: AutoTelegraaf via Motor Authority]