Overview
Car Wars concluded the NADA 2026 Show by spotlighting AI-driven enhancements designed to boost call coverage, sharpen reporting, and improve appointment-setting for auto dealers. The company paired these updates with data showing persistent gaps in inbound call handling and follow-up across dealerships.
Key performance insights
- Connect rate pressure: Average 2025 sales Connect score was 62.39%, indicating many inbound calls still do not reach someone who can advance the sale.
- Follow-up gaps: Only 44% of calls flagged as missed opportunities were pursued, signaling late or inconsistent outreach even when buying signals were present.
- AI expectations: Dealers are moving from pilots to dependable, scalable solutions that lift connect rates, improve reporting accuracy, and increase appointments.
- Need for visibility: Leaders want clearer insight into where calls fail, routing impacts, and which missed calls deserve immediate attention.
Platform enhancements highlighted at NADA
End-to-end reporting expansion
Car Wars broadened reporting across products to show what happens from the first ring to final resolution, enabling faster intervention when calls go off track.
Cari Receptionist
Deeper reporting now surfaces how calls are handled, routing choices, transfer timing, and outcomes—helping managers pinpoint where conversations connect or fall apart and where to adjust coverage or transfer logic.
Cari Service Scheduler
Built on an AI foundation for fixed ops, recent updates include added DMS and scheduler integrations, more granular reporting, and features to simplify booking, reduce manual tasks, and scale service scheduling to keep bays full.
AI-driven triage and coaching
- Pursue Opportunity Index: Ranks missed calls by likelihood to convert so teams can prioritize the highest-intent callbacks.
- Fresh Up Call Tag: Flags first-time sales opportunity callers to quickly identify net-new prospects.
- Summarized Call Coaching: Weekly outbound performance snapshots highlight wins, misses, and agent-level coaching insights.
What dealers are saying and seeking
Discussions centered on practical fixes for unanswered calls during peak times, routing to voicemail, and delayed outreach on high-intent interactions. Dealer participants described a preference for hands-on, data-informed guidance that proactively closes gaps before they affect revenue.
Why it matters
The emphasis has shifted from broad activity metrics to outcomes. The new tools aim to identify which interactions demand immediate escalation, which can wait, and where routing needs to change—reducing guesswork for managers and agents and tying actions to measurable results like appointments set and conversations connected.
Operational context
Staffing pressures continue to affect call handling, especially during shift changes and high-traffic windows. According to Car Wars, improved visibility into coverage patterns plus AI-powered triage can mitigate dropped or misrouted calls and speed meaningful recovery from missed interactions.
Roadmap notes
Car Wars did not disclose timelines or pricing for the new features and did not detail specific integration partners or targeted dealership segments. The company indicated ongoing investment in reporting depth and AI prioritization to deliver reliable coverage, clearer accountability, and outcome-focused improvements across sales and service.
