ORIGINAL: chickenfart

Thats what scares people away, I can buy a dirtbike and have a ball with my kids and spend stuff all on it, buy a nitro car and all of the sudden your fixing it all the time and buying bits and pieces. Then you have to know how to use it and if you don't you get pretty sick of frying $12 plugs all the time and whatever else decides to stuff up because of inexperience. Pretty soon your wishing you hadnt spent that money on something your too scared to use coz you might stuff it some more, especially nitro.
I really hate the way its all going really, it never ends, its not good any more that you just bought the car you really wanted, once you get it you gotta hop it up you gotta have this part and that carry bag and Ultra high torque digital servos, turbo head motors, 1,2,3 chamber pipes, 20,30,40% fuel with cleaning agents and crap in it, after run oil, abc,abb,abd,whatever piston and liners, 2,3,4 shoe aluminium, rulon,carbon clutches with 1, 1.1, 1.2 and whatever else springs and every tooth imaginable spur gear pinion gears clutch gears, metal, rubber, metal nad rubber sealed bearing, ceramic bearings, high downforce wings and all the other crap that just seems like good marketing and not of any substantial use for the price.
I don't think its people not wanting to race them, I just think its too daunting for the average joe to enjoy, going down to the track only to be beaten by the guy with more cash gets annoying and I can see why it can be easier to stay away.
And in my opinion, yes they are toys, just very well marketed and toys, so that big kids like us don't feel so bad when we have so much fun with em. I enjoy this hobby but I like the good old days when i rocked up to the track and if i raced well i would win, now it seems to be all about cash and all the companies know it too.