TrueDelta.com turned three at the end of September, and the third year was a good one.

We started providing Vehicle Reliability Survey results, and provided updates each quarter, as promised. Each time more models have been included, despite increases in the minimum sample sizes. In a growing number of cases TrueDelta has provided reliability information on a model before anyone else. Next month: the 2008 Buick Enclave. Over the course of the year, we’ve continued to refine the pricing and reliability information, most recently adding about 1,250 static price comparison pages. We also started this blog.

Site visits grew from 16,300 in September 2006 to 44,200 in September 2007–and might top 60,000 this month. (We’re having an extremely good October.) The number of vehicles in the panel grew from 7,000 to nearly 19,000–and will reach 20,000 before the end of October.

All of this said, there have been disappointments. There has been some press coverage of what we’re doing, including a page three article in industry bible Automotive News, but in general the press has ignored the site. Some members have been extremely helpful in telling others about the site, but in general word of mouth is weaker than it ought to be.

My largest disappointment: too many people sign up and then neglect to respond to the surveys. This is unfair to everyone who does participate, and at some point in the next few months changes will have to be made. I’m finding it hard to be a “glass 40 percent full” guy. Beyond fairness, the system can only work if those who want information help provide it.

So, what will the next year bring? First, the change I’ll cover in the next blog post: integration of the Vehicle Reliability Survey and the Vehicle Repair History Survey. Early next year we hope to add databases for the 2000 and 2001 model years, so that these can be included in the latter survey. We’ve also had another whole section planned, but won’t have time to implement it for another month or two.

Finally, we’ve started talking to potential partners. One thing is not on the table: TrueDelta will not be sold. I can’t imagine that anyone working for a salary, including myself, would operate this research the way it needs to be operated. And once a large corporation gets involved, the pressure for quick results would increase, while the speed at which improvements could be made would decrease. Not a good combination.

But some form of partnership could be very helpful. A partner might help inform more car owners about our research, and help provide the resulting information to more car buyers. Any such partnership, like just about everything else we do, will have as its primary goal better information on more cars.

Thank you for helping us provide better information on more cars during the past year. Now on to an even better fourth year.