ATLANTA -

Barring a few exceptions, consumer interest has largely turned to sportier models as the weather continues to warm.

In fact, demand for these models, many of which have convertible options, prompted Autotrader senior analyst Michelle Krebs to say the following: “Spring has arrived, and car buyers’ desires have turned to sporty cars.”

The majority of cars in Autotrader’s March Scarcity report — which ranks vehicles in high demand but short supply — are sporty cars, both at the national level and in specific metro markets, the company shared with Auto Remarketing.

The certified pre-owned Porsche Cayman continues to be the most “elusive” certified vehicle in the country, according to the report.

And similar to recent months, the CPO Volkswagen Golf R (No. 3) and the CPO Porsche Boxter (No. 6) also made the top 10 list of hardest-to-find certified rides.

The CPO Golf R also ranked at No. 1 in Chicago and Dallas/Ft. Worth and at No. 2 in Los Angeles, Krebs pointed out.

The certified Corvette is also making waves.

“The CPO Corvette has cropped up in Autotrader’s scarcity report monthly since the newest version of the sports car hit the market,” Krebs said.

It currently ranks at No. 8 nationally and in several market areas, such at Atlanta (at No. 2), Chicago (No. 7), Dallas/Ft. Worth (No. 2), Houston (No. 1) and Washington, D.C. (No. 3).

Dealers also may have had trouble finding certified Audi models this past month.

“A variety of sport CPO Audi S models have been in high demand and short supply,” Krebs said.

  • The CPO S4 ranked No. 6 in Atlanta, No. 4 in Boston, No. 6 in Los Angeles, No. 8 in New York, No. 3 in Philadelphia and No. 2 in Washington, D.C.
  • The CPO Audi S5 was scarce in several DMAs, showing up at No. 6 in Atlanta, No. 5 in Chicago, No. 6 in Houston and No. 7 in the San Francisco area.

The late-model used scarcity list also touted many of the same models. On a national level, the VW Golf R topped the list, and the Subaru BRZ came in at No. 2.

The Audi allroad came in at No. 3, followed by the Chevrolet Colorado and Subaru WRX, respectively.

The Exceptions

Though sporty vehicles dominated March scarcity lists, Krebs did point out a few exceptions that might have had to do with winter hanging on a bit longer than usual this year.

“An exception to the sporty trend is the CPO Chevrolet Colorado, resurrected in redesigned form this year,” Krebs said.

“It shows up in a number of markets as being desired but hard to find,” she said, particularly in Houston (No. 4), New York (No. 9) and Philadelphia (No. 7).

“In response to high demand for the new version of this vehicle, General Motors is running its plant flat out to keep up with demand for the Colorado and its sibling, the GMC Canyon,” Krebs added.

And in Boston, following a winter with record snowfall, SUVs and vehicles that can better handle winter weather were in high demand.

“The extremely harsh winter was slow to leave Boston, and that shows in the list of vehicles in high demand in the snowy region. Half of the vehicles in the Scarcity report for Boston were SUVs with a couple of all-wheel-drive cars also making the list,” Krebs explained.

The No. 1 hardest-to-find CPO vehicle in Boston in March was the Toyota FJ Cruiser, followed by the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque. The CPO Toyota Sequoia also made the list, coming in at No. 6, followed by the Chevrolet Silverado and Toyota 4Runner, respectively.

Click below to see the full March Used and CPO Scarcity Reports from Autotrader: