An executive position at General Motors Co. with a long tradition for power and attracting ambitious - and often quirky - personalities has been eliminated in the top-to-bottom management restructuring GM unveiled for its four sales divisions last week.

The role of division general manager - the executive who for decades wielded the almighty last word on everything from marketing to manufacturing - is gone, the historic position replaced by a structure that assigns sales and marketing functions to separate executives at each of the Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick/GMC divisions.

"It's become extremely clear to me since taking this role that there is a better way to structure this organization," Mark Reuss, GM North America president, said in detailing the new management configuration. "The premise of the structure is simple -- a clearer marketing focus to sell more vehicles, and freeing our sales and service experts to focus on customers and dealers.

"We've worked with a small group of executives to align this model and appoint the best candidates for each job," he added.

Say goodbye to one of the last vestiges of a GM's management-style history: the single and all-powerful division general manager.