GM VP and NADA President Pro Tem to be Keynote Speakers for CAR 2003
Bobit Publishing announced two new keynote speakers for the Conference of Automotive Remarketing (CAR), to be held Feb. 23-25, 2003, at the Las Vegas Hilton.
Bobit Publishing announced two new keynote speakers for the Conference of Automotive Remarketing (CAR), to be held Feb. 23-25, 2003, at the Las Vegas Hilton. Charley Smith, incoming president pro tem of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), will speak on Monday, Feb. 24, 2003. John Smith, vice president and general manager, field sales, service and parts, General Motors, will speak on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2003. Charley Smith is chairman of the board of Watson Truck & Supply in Hobbs, NM. He currently represents New Mexico’s franchised new-car dealers on the NADA board of directors. He has been the New Mexico chairman of the Dealers Election Action Committee, NADA’s political action committee, and is a past chairman of the New Mexico Automotive Dealers Association. Smith graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico and serves on the board of directors of the University of New Mexico Foundation. He has a D.D.S. from the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and practiced dentistry for 15 years before becoming a new-car dealer in 1985.

Prior to assuming his current position in January 2002, John Smith served as GM vice president and general manager of service parts operations. He has also served as GM vice president and general manager of Cadillac Motor Car Division, president of Allison Transmission, headquartered in Indianapolis, and vice president of planning for General Motors Europe, based in Zurich. He is a 1973 graduate of General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) and holds an MBA from Har-vard University.
More Operations
The Top 300 Commercial Fleets
The Top 300 Commercial Fleets: See the List
Read More →
Your Local Dealer Knows More Than You Think
Your local dealer can provide an information advantage that extends well beyond courtesy deliveries.
Read More →
Fleet Meets: Austin Schutte
Here are some industry insights, personal touches, and words of advice from the CEO and Founder of Anew Solutions.
Read More →Soap Box Derby Challenge: What’s Powering Team Brown
The car is coming together, the students are solving real build problems, and the fleet industry is helping push Team Brown toward the starting line.
Read More →
Commercial Fleet Sales Contribute To June, YTD Gains
The fleet sector has boosted its vehicle purchases at a reliable pace in the first half of this year compared with 1H 2025.
Read More →What Fleet Managers Really Want From Vendors
From customer service frustrations and technology breakdowns to RFQs, change management, and the growing impact of turnover across the industry, this conversation pulls back the curtain on the real operational challenges fleet managers are navigating every day.
Read More →Fleet Safety Masterclass: Industry Leaders on Storytelling, Strategy & Innovation
In this special masterclass episode, industry leaders break down what it really takes to build safer fleets in today’s increasingly distracted and data-driven world.
Read More →Integrating Legacy Fleet Systems and Historical Data
In this episode, we bring together fleet and technology leaders to unpack the realities of data integration, system migrations, and the evolving role of AI in fleet management.
Read More →From Resistance to Results: Change Management Strategies for Fleets
From new technologies and safety programs to evolving regulations, fleets are under constant pressure to adapt. But as Dr. Betz explains, success isn’t about the system you implement—it’s about whether your people actually use it.
Read More →


