Apparently, the move to stop the export program in the wake of GM's bankruptcy and the killing off of the Pontiac brand has left a warehouse of parts once destined for cars to be exported to the US. Holden's marketing department — sensing an opportunity — has decided to use the stockpile on VE Commodores, which will be sold as a premium priced, limited edition Holden. Brilliant!

Even better news is the special edition will apparently also be available as a ute and wagon! GM had announced plans to bring over a G8 El Camino Sport Truck ST to the United States but then nixing those plans, along with even the idea of a wagon version of the Zeta-platformed RWD G8.

Although there's no official confirmation yet from Holden, the mere thought of the G8 surviving provides us some level of comfort — even if we're not getting it here. Frankly, the mere thought of a Pontiac El Camino vastly increases the likelihood we may have to move to Australia for some good ol' fashioned muscle car hoonage! Seriously, this is the best news we've heard in weeks.

UPDATE: Aussie site carpoint's reporting the following:

"It is unclear how many of each will be made, but dealer contacts have suggested it will be close to 1500 in total, or about 500 of each body style.

Prices of each limited edition model will be $1000 more than a regular SS V. The Holden bulletin outlined to dealers the following:

Pontiac G8 SS-V ute manual $47,490
Pontiac G8 SS-V sedan manual $55,290
Pontiac G8 SS-V wagon manual $57,290"

[via Drive, carsales.com.au, carpoint]

A Pontiac spokesperson told us this morning they

"are still proceeding with plans to bring the G8 ST to market late next year. However, it will be part of an ongoing portfolio review for Pontiac."

We knew Pontiac would be trimming its lineup due to the Carpocalypse, but we’re deeply saddened to learn there’s a possibility we may never get the chance to have our own Ponitac G8 ST to hoon.

The G8 ST was developed on the Zeta RWD platform, the same as the G8 and upcoming Camaro. Built in Australia by GM’s Holden subsidiary, GM had announced sales projections of the G8 ST to be 5,000 units annually.

In other news, the FWD 2010 Pontiac G3 will arrive on schedule in the spring. Forgive us if we don’t share quite the same level of enthusiasm.

[via Automotive News]

With the Pontiac G6 in refresh limbo and a probable Pontiac G5 based on the Chevy Cruze, it's a hard to argue the case for an all-rear-wheel-drive lineup at the moment. MotorAuthority contradicts an earlier GM statement saying we wouldn't be seeing the Pontiac G3 in the US. They go one step further and imagine a car between the G3 and the G5 — we're no rocket scientists, but "G4" is a good bet for a name. So, lets count it all up: No rear-wheel-drive lineup and a rebadged Aveo? We don't like this story; put it back. [MotorAuthority]

Jalopnik Snap Judgment: When we speculated on the success of the Pontiac G8 ST with only a big honkin' 361 HP V8, we wondered aloud if a V6 option might not make a lot of sense. Given the disintegration of the full size truck market, and a largely unserved compact truck market, a 3.6-liter V6-powered El Camino G8 ST could be a huge success. Is it wrong that we're almost more excited about a well designed V6 in the truck-car than the tire melting power of a V8? Note we said "almost."

Along with the press release on the official name of the Pontiac G8 ST, GM's press team released a bevy of photos of the new ute from the brand all about the arrowhead. Pontiac marketing director Craig Bierley told us Pontiac "didn't really have ST as the name when we engaged in the process" but the press photos from last night display a remarkable similarity to the original shots released back in March. Do they make you wonder whether perhaps "ST" was going to be the name all along, regardless of what entries were received? All we know is we're still in mourning over the loss of the El Camino name.

"To date, El Camino has a massive head start, thanks to skillful grassroots campaigning."

While this particular car was not equipped with the requisite manufacturers plates, it was sporting a GM parking lot tag. Our sources tell us it belongs to an employee out at the Milford proving grounds but we can neither confirm or deny that. All we know is those vinyl stripes definitely make the already hot-to-trot G8 even more of a looker.