While some analysts were wondering why General Motors shut down Pontiac amidst GM's bankruptcy in 2009, former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said that GM killed the brand on government orders, Jalopnik.com reported on Saturday. "The Feds basically wanted to get GM down to Cadillac and Chevrolet," according to Lutz. "They said, 'You don't need all these brands. You need one prestige brand, and one mass-market brand.'" Lutz lamented the killing off of the Pontiac division, saying that despite decades of mismanagement, there were signs that it was on its way back before it was eliminated during GM's bankruptcy.
