Signatures in short supply?

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2020 CX-5
After over 80K completely trouble free miles in a 2016 CX-5, and in light of some unbelievable financing deals Mazda has on offer, I visited my local dealer in Central Illinois to see about purchasing a 2020 Signature. Though I really like Soul Red, I don't want to deal with that paint color's fragility and decided on white instead. My dealer had no Signatures at all in stock and a search on Mazda's website showed only 2 white Signatures within 200 miles, which would include dealers in Chicago, St. Louis and Indianapolis. My dealer is trying to snag one for me, but I expected the supply to be much higher given that my search included 3 large metro areas with multiple dealers. Did Mazda underestimate the demand for this model?

I also considered the Volvo XC40, which looks to be a fairly close competitor of the Signature. In comparing specs, it looked like a similarly equipped XC40 would run at least $9,000 more than the Signature plus every review I read said that though the Volvo has an amply powerful engine, driving dynamics are bland at best. Plus I like the looks of the CX-5 much better than the XC40 and the Volvo's early reliability statistics were not encouraging. So a Signature it will be, if my dealer can get me one.
 
perceived model shortages are a part of every manufacture sales tactics.
"oh we can only find # many... better put your deposit down"

Now the supply chain might be slow, but don't fret there are PLENTY to be bought.
 
perceived model shortages are a part of every manufacture sales tactics.
"oh we can only find # many... better put your deposit down"

Now the supply chain might be slow, but don't fret there are PLENTY to be bought.
Japan is different. It took nearly half a year to find my 370z, and it was 1 of 3 in the US that week. All sold within 15 minutes of hitting US soil.

Sport, Touring, NAV, gun metallic, manual, 2012.
 
On the build your own site you can search dealer inventory by model and color and distance away...
 
My dealer has two turbo modles and the large dealer 35 miles away has 5 turbo models. My dealers seem to be overloaded with Sport and some ST and GTs. Yes, the turbo modles are in very short supply. I like to visit a dealer who has a supply of models so I can SEE the color combinations etc.
 
"Constrained turbo availability" has been the subject of discussion since the beginning of the 2020 MY. I forget where I heard that Mazda was allocating Reserves and Signatures based upon 2019 sales...it may have been the sales guy at my dealer, FWIW. I do recall him telling me that they sell more Grand Tourings than any other trim, and that they sold relatively few turbos in 2019.

I just took a look at 3 dealers in Northern Virginia (high volume/high income region.)

Interestingly, all 3 of them have inventory in the same relative trim proportions:
-Sport (17 total/7%)
-Touring (100 total/41%)
-Grand Touring (97 total/39%)
NA trims 234 total/87%

-Grand Touring Reserve (22 total/9%)
-Signatures (10 total/7%)
Turbo trims: 32 total/13%

I bet that the supply is generally in the same proportion as historical demand. My local dealer has 3 Reserves, 0 Signatures and 10 Grand Tourings.

It would be interesting to put up a poll here to ask which trim is owned by forum members who purchased 2019/2020 MYs, or maybe just "NA" and "Turbo."

eta: It does raise an interesting problem when you sell fewer cars each year than you have color options, especially for a Sig, where you would want to see how a given body color looks with that brown interior. You're kind of buying blind.
 
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Out of curiosity, how does Mazda distribute their vehicles in the US? Since all manufacturing is done in Japan (I think), I'm guessing the vehicles first arrive at some port on the west coast. Does all dealer distribution occur from the initial arrival port or does Mazda have other distribution sites scattered across the US? I asked the dealer about just asking Mazda to add a white Signature to the next shipment of cars to the dealer, but that apparently isn't possible the way Mazda's distribution chain works. I guess we in the US have been spoiled by the efficiency and speed of Amazon, Wayfair and the like.
 
All Volvos have the 2.0T making 258 horses and I thought the 2017 S90 (shorter version) was great value in used market at 20-23K but I am not sure on that 2.0T reliability. Volvo has this weird thing going on wherein if something breaks and you have to pay to replace it - Volvo guarantees it for life (Part maybe but not the labor). But its service is expensive.
 
It's funny you mention this. I had a 2019 Reserve which was totaled in a rollover accident in February. Decided to upgrade to a 2020 Signature because there were some options I wanted. What the heck - you only live once. ;)

I was looking for Machine Gray - It took a while to get the car back in mid-March in the Chicago area. Very few Reserves and even less Signatures. My dealer ended up trading for one about 70 miles away.

Phenomenal car that literally saved my life. Get the Mazda and enjoy!!!!
 
Dealer just called and car will here tomorrow. I just downloaded the owner's manual. A 714 page PDF, and that doesn't even include the separate manual for the navigation system. The manual for a Boeing 777 is probably shorter.
 
Dealer just called and car will here tomorrow. I just downloaded the owner's manual. A 714 page PDF, and that doesn't even include the separate manual for the navigation system. The manual for a Boeing 777 is probably shorter.
Congratulations!! You're gonna love it!
 
Dealer just called and car will here tomorrow. I just downloaded the owner's manual. A 714 page PDF, and that doesn't even include the separate manual for the navigation system. The manual for a Boeing 777 is probably shorter.
It's insane, isn't it? At least the pdf lets you search on keywords.

There's just so much to learn with all the technology. In the past I've read the entire manual, driving the car for 6-12 months, then gone through the manual again once I've had some using experience. Ain't gonna happen with this one.

Regarding the car: I take it the dealer trucked it in from elsewhere? I love my Reserve...I know you'll fell the same way about your Sig.
 
I thought my 2016 Grand Touring was a nice drive, but the Signature takes it to a new level. Everything feels butter smooth and while the driving dynamics may be a bit more muted, it still feels more responsive than anything short of a turbo Macan. I've got to get my radar detector wired in since with the additional horsepower I find myself often 10-15 MPH over the limit in town without any real intention of driving that fast. That seems to be a good indicator of a well engineered car. The first time I drove a Porsche on the Interstate I was shocked to see I was going 100+ MPH when subjectively it felt like 70.
 
Being so much higher off the ground than the Mazda3, higher speeds definitely feel much slower to me...heads up display definitely useful!
 
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