ORIGINAL: Steve Campbell
Tex,
One glaring trend that I have noted in the past few years is this; it appears to me that the hobby industry, at least the US market, is being driven by price points. These people have sophisticated tools for determining just how much Joe Average Hobbyist, or Junior's Parents, is willing to spend on toys; and price their goods accordingly.
By corollary, the goods must be produced at a cost that will allow strong sales AND profits. Stockholders and general business sense demands ever-increasing profits. Materials and labor costs remain, so corners are cut. The non-adjustable tie rods (steering arms) on the MT2 are a case in point, I believe.
I'll keep this short, so as not to annoy the youngsters...
I'm sure the US market isn't alone there, that's for sure.
Still, I suppose if it helps more people get in to the hobby with a sound basis for future upgrades which will allow them to be competitive while still using the same car they were given a couple of years ago as a gift or originally bought as a basher, then I suppose that philosophy isn't totally flawed. The upgrade parts market helps keep the economy afloat too, I guess!
As an aside, I must say that it's becoming increasingly concerning to me as a young member of this global community (I'm 23) to see the way the world is going when it comes to the capitalist nature of our economies - I'd never thought about it at all even a year ago, but more and more now I'm seeing the effects of the constant push for ever-higher profits, whether it be the cut corners you refer to specifically regarding our little toys, or the laying off of whole call centres when a suitable automated system is found to perform the task of all the workers (as a bank we use recently did with their merchant services staff - would you believe the system they replaced the workers with is 10 times as cumbersome, and takes about 4 times as long to use?!)... There has to be a happy medium somewhere, I hope someone finds it soon!
As for the "youngsters" - meh to them.
If they don't want to read it, they can skip our long-winded posts.
Will be sure to keep you updated with my impressions of this beast as I start using it.