General Motors, the struggling US car maker, has drafted in Stephen Girsky, a highly-ranked senior autos analyst and a managing director at Morgan Stanley, as a special adviser and key figure in its turnaround efforts.

Girsky, who joined Morgan Stanley's US autos research team in June 1995 from PaineWebber, will join General Motors on August 1 as a full-time special adviser to Rick Wagoner, chairman and chief executive of General Motors, and vice-chairman and chief financial officer John Devine.