Nope, us HPI people do not have our noses bent. The TM is a clone. Not a "so-called clone", but a clone. From what I've read, the KM's quality is not even close to that of HPI. Of course, there are the rare posts such as yours that say differently, but I choose to own the original from the company that designed it.
ORIGINAL: avconslt
I have a KM T1000 that I converted to electric power and I can truthfully say that it appears to be perfectly constructed, with all parts fitting perfectly and the KM alloy upgrades are equally well built! I also have added some other upgrades like front brakes! I have compared my KM T1000 to a HPI Baja 5T and it is equally as well built with no noticable differences! Of course, I am not running the KM 29cc engine, which I understand is not the best, but those that have replaced the KM engine with a good CY or Zenoah have been more than happy with their truck! I have been running mine now for sometime and have not had a failure of any part yet! "knock on wood"! People have been copying other people products for many years! As they say "there is no use in reinventing the wheel"! Also they say that "copying is the greatest form of flattery"! The Chinese and Japanese have made science of copying other people's products for years and have began to put out some very good copies in the last few years, and with the low labor rates, were able to make these copies at a much less price! HPI seems to be doing very well and do not appear to to be in any danger of going out of business with the competition of the so called clones! It also appears that they are going to be doing quite well sell replacement parts for the clones, seeing that most of their parts are a direct replacement for the clones parts! I think it is just the purest that are all upset because some of us have been able to get into the 1/5 scale hobby for a lot less then they spent and their noses are bent!