Despite a last-minute appeal, a judge's order went into effect yesterday allowing General Motors Corp. to emerge from bankruptcy a streamlined, efficient and largely debt-free company.

GM is expected to finalize the sale of its strongest assets today to a new company owned primarily by the U.S. government.

As part of the Obama administration-backed sale plan, the U.S. government will get a 60 percent stake in "new GM" in exchange for what is expected to eventually total nearly $50 billion in aid.

The Canadian government, which has also contributed billions in aid, will get a 12.5 percent stake while the United Auto Workers union will take a 17.5 percent share to fund its health-care obligations. Unsecured bondholders (the old GM) receive the remaining 10 percent.

Though the company is reserving comments on developments until a news conference today in Detroit by GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson, GM spokeswoman Julie Gibson said, "We are in the process of getting all the closing details taken care of. I don't know where things stand with paperwork, but we expect it to be quite soon."

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber's order became effective at noon yesterday.

A group of asbestos claimants had appealed the sale, saying GM was improperly discharging liability claims as part of its sale. They asked for a delay of the sale.

But in response, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said yesterday that he would not stop the sale but agreed to hear an expedited appeal the week of July 20.

"The committee's motion insofar as it seeks a stay pending appeal, is denied in all respects," Judge Kaplan wrote. "Although there is a significant possibility that the appeal will be mooted by the consummation of the sale, there is no reason not to provide for an expedited appeal."

Some of the most vocal objectors to the sale included groups of people with product-related claims against the automaker. Under the current sale plan, liability for claims related to incidents that occurred before GM's bankruptcy filing won't carry over to the new GM.

That means people who claim they were injured as a result of a defective GM product before June 1 will be forced to seek compensation from "old GM," the collection of assets and liabilities leftover from the sale, where they will have to fight with the company's other creditors for a share of what's left.

Now that GM is ready to emerge from bankruptcy, its work has only just begun, analysts say.

It must keep an eye on the bottom line, restock the product pipeline with vehicles that had to be put on hold during bankruptcy, change its corporate culture, and weather a recession that has been crippling auto sales.

GM, which is emerging from bankruptcy after 39 days, was aided by the pattern established by Chrysler Group LLC, which exited bankruptcy on June 10 after 42 days.

The new GM will focus on four core brands, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. The company is in the process of selling Saturn, Saab, Hummer and its Adam Opel GmbH unit in Europe, and it will discontinue Pontiac by the end of the year.

Thanks to new union contracts that greatly reduced labor costs, GM will be a much leaner company.

"We will only have $17.3 billion in consolidated debt, whereas at the end of the first quarter, that figure was $54 billion," Ms. Gibson said. "And most of the money we owed for retiree health benefits has been taken care of by the fact that we are giving the UAW 17.5 percent equity in the company."

But the company hasn't been given a blank check, warned independent auto analyst Tom Libby.

"First and foremost, they have to remain disciplined and keep their costs steady," he said. In addition, they must spend heavily on marketing their showcase products, such as the Chevrolet Cruze, Camaro, Malibu, Silverado and Equinox and the Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac CTS.

In addition, GM will have to change the rate at which it introduces new models, Mr. Libby said.

"Toyota goes from segment to segment in their portfolio and replaces their products every five years. That's one of the reasons they are successful, they are disciplined and steady about product updates and replacements," he said.

Another uncertainty is just how active of a role the federal government will take in its car company.

For example, General Motors and Chrysler LLC are urging lawmakers to stop legislation that would prevent automakers from closing car dealerships.

The companies are closing nearly 3,000 dealerships as part of their restructuring.

Late Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to force General Motors and Chrysler to restore franchise agreements with dealers as a condition of partial government ownership. The auto companies said it could threaten their viability plans.