As the May results draw near, I am increasingly excited that TrueDelta that they will include some 2007 models. While the sample sizes will not be large, and the number of models small, I see this as a “proof of concept,” an early demonstration of what TrueDelta’s research process is capable of. After all, Consumer Reports won’t have reliability information on these models for six more months.

The models likely to make this list: the Saturn Aura, Nissan Versa, Honda Fit (where CR uses illegitimate data to provide a result), Acura MDX, and (maybe) GMC Acadia / Saturn Outlook. I’ve also already released two set of results for the Dodge Caliber, and one set for the Toyota Camry. The panel already includes between 40 and 65 of each of these for a simple reason: their owners participate actively in forums, and reacted enthusiastically to this research when I posted in these forums.

Which begs the question, why do some models have much more active forums than others?

The answer is again clear: interesting cars that are enjoyable to own inspire enthusiastic discussions, and such discussions are the basis for any active forum. No one goes online to discuss an appliance.

Of course, discussion in some forums largely focuses on problems requiring repair. I’m not talking about this sort of discussion.

So, if you want to know what owners think of a car, visit a forum for it. You’ll find a list of the ones helping TrueDelta here. For others, just do a search for “[model name] forum.”

And if you still can’t find an active forum for a model you’re considering, that should tell you something.