With J.D. Power and even more with Consumer Reports, it has not been possible to buy a new model while it was still new without taking a chance on reliability. J.D. Power releases its results in early June (based on data collected early in the calendar year), while Consumer Reports releases its results in late October (based on data collected in the spring).

I started TrueDelta’s Vehicle Reliability Survey because I realized, among other things, that using the Internet could yield much fresher results. The upcoming February results will validate this process: they will include a few 2008 models based on data collected from October through January. In other words, TrueDelta’s process can yield initial results on new models about four months sooner than J.D. Power, and nearly nine months sooner than Consumer Reports.

The 2008s that will be in the February results, with no asterisk for insufficient sample size (assisting forums noted):

Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook
(EnclaveForum.net,  AcadiaForum.net,  SaturnFans.com,
SaturnOutlookForum.net)

Honda Accord (DriveAccord.net)

Infiniti G35 / G37 (NICOClub.com)

2008s that will be there, with the asterisk:

BMW 5-Series

Cadillac CTS (CadillacForums.com)

Mazda3 (MazdaForums)

Mercedes C-Class

Nissan Altima (NICOClub.com)

Nissan Rogue (NICOClub.com)

Nissan Versa (NICOClub.com)

Saturn VUE (SaturnFans.com)

Scion xB

Toyota Prius (Prius Chat)

Suzuki SX4 (SX4Club.com)

By far, the main thing holding this research back are the sample sizes. There are 119 responses so far for the large GM crossovers, 43 for the Accord, and 41 for the Infiniti, but the others are in the twenties and thirties. The system is in place, and it is working as intended. All we need is more people, and we’d have results for all mainstream 2008s, with no asterisks.