First, I think Michael is speaking from direct experience with the 2.6, 3.2 and 3.7, but he'll have to give you the facts on that. Yes, my only direct experience is with the 2.6.

EJB:

As far as the "name" pilots using them, that typically takes an effort by the factory to support(sponsor) a "name" pilot.....and guess what, that takes marketing dollars. Typically this takes place at a high-level, meaning a 150cc motor. I seem to recollect some talk about DA giving away their 150's when they came out to the top pilots at the TOC. That's how they got established. It wasn't cheap. The hype from promoting these motors trickles down to the smaller motors in the lineup. How many "name" pilots do you see flying ZDZ40's, BME 50's, or 3W-50's. Whether right or wrong, Taurus has chosen not spent money on this marketing approach....and they might not have the right large motor to do it. I admittedly have no direct knowledge of their larger motors.

ZDZ has sold more engines, no doubt and for good reason. Is it because they're the best? That's open for debate(that's pretty obvious, huh?). Let's first talk about marketing and advertising dollars? ZDZ runs ads and actively promotes their products through many vehicles. Taurus does not. They depend on word of mouth and so far it's worked well enough to keep their products backlogged typically at a 3 week wait. That's probably not a big number, but it's significant. Why? Let's consider mass-market vs. low production, basically hand-made products. These types of products are not designed to serve the mass market and probably never will. They're not built for everyone, they're built for the discriminating few that can see beyond the marketing hype and buy the best product despite the lack of market visibility. There are many examples of this approach in just about all product categories. Taurus has not spent money on marketing through the normal vehicles because if they did, they couldn't keep their production standards at the same level and serve a mass-market.

The ZDZ and Taurus are two totally different types of products and they both serve the R/C market in different ways. Some people(more) will buy ZDZ's and some will buy Taurus'(fewer), and it has nothing to do with which motor is best, it has strictly to do with marketing. The number of units sold definitely does not necessarily have anything to do with it being the best product on the market. Have you guys every heard of Microsoft?

Diablo:

And now let's try to address Diablo's arguments. First, I for one never said the Taurus was built without regard for cost. In fact I admitted cost has to be a factor in just about any engine produced. What I said was that Taurus has different cost constraints than ZDZ. Diablo likes to call the Taurus a concrete saw motor because it happens to use a cylinder and piston from a company(Mahle) that's known for making tons of high-quality cylinders and pistons(among other things) for a wide variety of applications, including chainsaws. Would the Taurus be better with a custom built cylinder and piston? Yes, it probably would, and it would also cost another $100. But even Taurus has to make cost/performance decisions, and if they took that route they would be making their potential market even smaller, probably too small to stay in business.

So I ask you, who cares where the cylinder and piston came from? Isn't the way the engine performs what you should be caring about? Diablo, you seem to be totally discounting the facts about the performance of the Taurus and are only focused on where the cylinder came from. Isn't what you should care about is the quality of manufacture, smoothness, ease of starting, warranty(3 year), and of course power output. My opinion, based on facts that are available to all of us, is that in all of these categories, the Taurus 2.6 and 3.2 are superior to the ZDZ, BME, 3W, and Brison and all the other small engines currently available. Yes, I'm only talking about the 2.6 and 3.2. I do not have facts on Taurus's bigger motors, but the one thing I do know is they'll have the same quality. The only category the Taurus doesn't win in is price. For me, it is well worth the extra $100 over the ZDZ for the incredible craftsmanship and superior performance of the Taurus engines. ....then of course there's Dick Hanson, and he's right, if you demand your motors have rotary valves, and rear exhausts then the Taurus is not the engine for you.

captnjohn:

You're going to need a fire truck to put this puppy out...but that's ok, it's too much fun to let it die quietly.

Bill