P.M. BRIEFING : Boss Shakes Up GM on 1st Day

DETROIT —  General Motors Corp. Chairman Robert C. Stempel today charged into his first day on the job by announcing a reorganization of the giant auto maker aimed at making better cars and selling them quicker.

The restructuring involves reducing the layers of GM management and shifting more responsibility for cars and trucks--from design to production to marketing to sales--from upper management to the auto maker’s eight divisions and subsidiaries.

At a news conference, Stempel said the moves will streamline GM and allow it to compete better in the 1990s by focusing on improving vehicle quality and increasing sagging market share profitably.

Stempel appeared at the news conference with six other top executives to outline GM’s future now that Roger Smith has retired after leading the company for 9 1/2 years. The renewed focus on making and selling better cars and trucks is a marked change from the largely financial focus of Smith’s tenure.