Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

I was surfing the net last night just looking at different online retailers that sell RC car stuff. I came accross several that stated they would no longer be selling any buggy kits to make way for MT kits. What's up with this crap? They can't seel both? This hobby seems to be shifting whereas retailers are catering only to the majority. They seem to be following suit with the manufacturers and their recent concentration on making only RTR kits. The entire industry seems hell bent on taking away the consumer's choices and only offering what the majority wants. If these keeps going as it has been, the only thing that will be available is RTR MT kits. They apparently want to do away with variety.

Re: Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

No, buggies are loosing popularity becuase Ram bought one... :D

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

Maybe Ram could open a BUGGIES_R_US Super Store....filled the brim with Buggies. :)

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

For left handed people only. :rolleyes:

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

Im gonna grab a spectra module while i still can

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

so like me your the 11% of the world??

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

How did this thread get to be so off topic so quickly?

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

Well for me, I am going to get an 1/8 scale buggy. I do a lot of pavement driving and the MT's really suck at that. I like razor sharp handling and the MT's just don't handle like the buggies or the stadium trucks. If all I wanted to do is donuts and jump trash cans, then I would get an HPI SAVAGE 21. Just my opinion though.


Matt

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

I hate how companies make only rtr MTs. *** why cant they make a rolling chassis. I would have a savage rolling chassis asap if they made them. But no!!!!!!! Its all about the newbes. I say Make everyone biuld thier cars so when they break they no what to do instead of having to take it to the lhs and get it fixed for 20 bucks more.

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

Grampi..... IN my opinion it has to do with RTR and the popularity of the MT's. It seems that alot of todays "CROWD" do not have the time/patience to really get in to the hobby yet they want to be like there buddy Billy Bob who has an RC MT. Mt's for some reason jst seem to be the most popular at this time. I mean you get them 4WD,Big power engines,go anywhere and take lots of abuse. I know the buggies are the same but I think its "SIZE"that maters to todays crowd so the Mt is what they want. :D


Thats My .02 cents

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

I agree, but it isn't what EVERYBODY wants. Just because 51% of the RC car buying public wants RTR MT kits doesn't mean that's all the manufacturers should be making available to us. They still should be offering us MT's, buggies, and ST's in non RTR kits as well. It's our hobby, we're the people who buy the stuff, we should have a say in what's available to us. I'm sick of this no chioces crap.

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

I totally agree with you. They should not build machines for just one crowd. They should try and please the RTR and Kit guys both.
Like you said before..... if we make enough noise maybe one of the manufacturers will listen.

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

I'm trying to devise a way to let all of them hear about this. If any of you have any ideas, please let's hear them.

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

I am not trying to flame anyone here because we all have opinions, but I would like to just state mine.

I don't think it's right to over generalize that all us "Newbs" are too mechanically declined to even change the batteries in our rigs. I will be the first to admit that I don't know as much about how my MT is put together, compared to if I had bought it as a kit and assembled it myself. On the other hand I, and I am sure most of the "Newb" community, have a willingness to learn and a true love for this hobby. I guess I don't really see why RTR buyers are singled out as being too dumb to be able to work on their own rigs.

I bought the RTR T Maxx because that's what was available to me. If it had come in a kit, well then I would have still bought it. I did no buy it solely based on the fact that it was RTR. I did not want a buggy because they seem to be suited better for a track, and since there are not many tracks around here, then it did not suit what I wanted. I mean lets face it, take a MT through a construction area, then take a buggy. In my mind the MT is going to be able to handle it better. I am not saying that buggies are pieces of crap, they are just suited for different things.

Anyways, just wanted to get that off my chest. People should not be singled out because they bought an RTR or a kit. This hobby has a tendency to loose the folks who are just in it because their buddy "Billy Bob" got a rig. They folks who really truly enjoy this hobby will be around for a long time regardless if they bought RTR or not.

just my 2 cents......

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

Oh SHEETMETAL!
I open up this thread and I see my name ALL over the place!! lol.

In my amateur opinion, MTs are more for bashing right? More people are coming into the R/C sport and heck if I were a total newb, an MT is the first thing I'd want. Not a damn $800+ buggy that looks like half the man as a MT!!

The Buggy I believe is a race breed for the most part. Thats why its so expensive I think.
Hobby store? Nah, its too much work to a little money and WAAAY too many questions to answer! lol

As Tom said, in the hurried world of 14 year olds driving RTR cars with their 2 months work of savings (only).. I wonder why the RTR MTs are so popular! ITs a good point. Who wants to put the damn thing together?!!
Then they come here and ask "How does a transmission work?" "What is a dogbone?" "How do I do this?!"
#$%#^ You bought it and you have no idea how it works?! Thats what you get with an RTR!!
Thats exactly what happened with REAL cars.
People used to work on their own cars. Until Ford GM and Chrystler decided to make then RTR/Warranty VOID if removed!
Guess who makes more money that way!
And we end up buying stuff that we dont even know about.

I bet you half the owners of the Civic HX dont even know that they are driving a CVT transmission. (Continuously Variable Tranny)

Anyway..
DOWN WITH IRAQ!!! (for burning those oil well.. damn ****s! That did it for me)
-ram
-ram

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

Dlock...... Im not singling out anyone. Im not saying that they are too "DUMB" to build and maintain them. Im saying that quite a few of the newbs coming in to the sport do not want to take the time nor have the patience to build a kit form RC car. I see it all the time at our local track.

I myself want that kit ..... that nobody offers. I enjoy buliding my cars as much as driving them. Its all part of it.

Sorry if you feel singled out.. was not my intention.

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

I just thought I'd throw another opinion in the mix for the fun of it.

Another way to look at the popularity of MT's is the fact that many RC enthusiast's have been in the hobby for a long time and already have ST's, buggy's and road vehicles. Now that the MT has some viable technology, a new look and speed to match many of those that have been in the hobby for a while are getting MT's so it is a perceived growth area.

MT's are also much better for the average person. They are stronger than stadium trucks, cheaper than buggy's, can go in terrain that would make ST's and buggy's quiver, and can be used on the pavement just as easily. Since there is not an overabundance of tracks in most areas they just make much more sense for the average consumer. The average consumer isn't going to search for tracks and sure isn't going to drive 1-2 hours to go to the closest track.

The other thing to remember is that you are getting a very skewed vision of the RC world here (I think most in this forum forget this). If somebody is going to take the time to visit message boards then they are going to generally be of the more hard core crowd. Hence the propensity of people here to want kits. Most people on this board eat, sleep and breath RC. They spend most of their disposable income on new vehicles, hop up's or repairs to their current vehicles. This is not the best place to look for the average view of a consumer when it comes to RC.

I am a relative newbie to the RC world, though I was a participant long, long ago. I am the type that gets into everything that I do regardless of what it is. I get onto message boards, buy magazines and look at ways I can improve my abilities in either the hobby or sport, race and try and talk shop with others in the hobby or sport. When I decided to get a new RC vehicle I didn't want a kit. I wanted something that I could take out and drive that day.

I am very mechanically inclined and wouldn't have had any problem putting assembling a kit. I however didn't want to deal with the hassle. The RTR included everything I needed to get started except the batteries and the nitro. This saved me a lot of time initially in research and let me get into the hobby with out much work.

So far I've had plenty of time to work on my ST and MT and I didn't need the initial build to learn how the car worked and how to properly repair it. An afternoon at the track generally means I either have something to repair or at a minimum a detail job on the ST or MT. In the end I will have disassembled and rebuilt the entire vehicle numerous times and I'll have plenty of knowledge about the inner workings of the vehicle. A quick look at the schematics graph shows me exactly how it works.

Just remember it's easy to loose perspective when you are passionate about something. Keep in mind that most people work 40+ hours a week have a wife (or husband), 2.5 kids, a dog or cat and have 20 meetings a week to attend outside of work (HOA meetings, soccer matches, music lessons, football games, etc.). The last thing they want to worry about is spending a week building a car and screwing up somewhere during the assembly. Then spending the next week disassembling it to figure out what went wrong. By this time the average consumer has shelved the car and won't even look at it for another year or longer. Even if they do build it correctly then may give up midway through the break in process with nitro vehicles since it can be a big pain in the butt if you don't know what you are doing.

RTR's make sense to 90% of the consumers and MT's make sense to 90% of those people.

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

I think I'm one of those people dlock is talking about hehe
Its like I have a think almost "against" RTR.
I believe that it sort of goes against the whole R/C car philosophy of having something that you TOTALLY understand.

I dont think R/C cars are something you buy and run.. until it breaks and you say "OOPS!, better take it to the LHS"! Hell no!
R/C spirit says.. get down on your knees (I know what your thinking!) and FIX that thing even if it takes you 2 hours!

Building the car.. is part of the satisfaction that RTR buyers will never achieve! I'm not dissing RTRers.. Just saying that they are not getting the full experience, and paying more for it!

ITs like Stick shift vs Automatic. ith the Stick, you get Less expense, More control, Better economy, More fun to drive factor.

An automatic is the straight opposite of everything positive over there! WHY? Because its RTR and EASY! I guess vehicles are meant for getting from point A to B (for most, and rightfully so!) but I truely believe that you are missing a part of the spirit when you take the RTR shortcut!

I hope you understand what I mean!

After all is said and done.. we should be like Cary (CMO).. Forget all this! HAKUNA MATATA! Lets go have some fun ! :)

-ram
(off to work.. I'll see ya guys in a couple of hours)

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

If you think about the differences between the buggy and the classic MT you come up with....

Buggy:
Expensive
ideal for tracks
Very Quick and nimble
Mainly kits

MT:
RTR
not near the expense
Drive ANYWHERE
stronger

So if you look at the big picture....most kids think bigger is better....There aren't as many tracks around as their are backyards....money doesn't grow on trees....faster you go, the harder you crash.....

Personally I wasn't a big fan of the MT's at first, I like speed and quickness on a track. However I would like to get into some R/c rock crawling with an MT. Otherwise they seem to be slow and bulky. But like I said I look for track performance and because I have a track nearby I can do that. I haven't had a buggy yet but I might be getting one in the near future. I also don't have a problem with the rtr's. When I get a truck that is an rtr I usually take it completely apart and put it back together anyway.

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

I don't know if some of you are getting the wrong message, but it sounds like you may be. I have nothing against RTR's or MT's, in fact I think they are very necessary to this hobby. What I do have a problem with is retailers and manufacturers taking away our chioces. When a retailer makes a statement like "we will no longer be selling buggy kits so that we can concentrate more on MT kits", they are taking away our choices. When a manufacturer decides to make their kits available only in RTR form, they're taking away our chioces. This is wrong no matter how popular MT's and RTR kits are. RTR's are great for those who want them, and they suck to those of us who don't want them. All I'm saying is give us the choice, the manufacturers and retailers shouldn't be making the choices for us.

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

But thats the point that I'm getting at.....Its all supply and demand.....If I own a hobby shop and I live in the middle of nowhere....and I sell 60 Mt's a month verses 5 Buggies....then guess what; The buggies aren't going to be available in my shop much longer because it is a waste of my money to have them. Its not like the manufacturers are not producing the buggies anymore you just have to look to a more track and r/c racing store to get them.

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

I realize that's what you're saying, however, I don't believe the numbers are that lopsided. I'm sure MT's outsell buggies, but I doubt it's by that much. Same with RTR kits vs rolling chassis kits.

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

Maybe the numbers aren't that lopsided....I just threw out numbers. You should call up or email whatever retailer that you noticed were stopping the sales of buggies because of the MT's and ask why. They should be able to give you a decent reason for their decision and might give you an idea of the number of sales regarding the different types of kits and r/c's.

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

Grampi,

I agree with hoodiegadoo, it's all supply and demand. If buggy's and kits were selling in high volumes you would see many more of them with more choices.

If a manufacturer is selling 60% RTR and 40% Kits you are going to see a lot of Kits on the market and the majority of vehicles would be sold in kit form as well as RTR, including MT's. If a manufacturer is only selling 10% of their vehicles as kits they are going to phase them out in favor of RTR's. It ends up being cheaper because they can run the assembly line continuously instead of stopping to make adjustments for the kit form. Why change your assembly line when you are only going to satisfy 10% of the people? It ends up costing more than it's worth.

The unfortunate fact is that with all hobbies and small sports the manufactures cater to the occasional users because that's where the money is. 80%-90% of the people will be occasional users while 10%-20% will be hard core people.

Eventually you will see smaller more focused company's develop. They may never be huge but they will turn out quality equipment for the hard core segment. If a company that is small can make a good profit from kits you will see them pop up if not you will see the kits go away.

BTW I sent an e-mail to Associated asking them to produce their new MT in a kit form. Their response was basically: We will take your e-mail and the three other responses we have received on it into consideration. In other words they have more to worry about than a small grassroots campaign that in the end would probably end up costing them money instead of making a profit off of it.

In the end, if you want a kit try and work with the LHS. See if you can sell them the engine and radio or exchange them for price reductions on the parts you want before you ever leave the LHS with the new car. Then go home and completely disassemble the car and rebuild it. There you go, a kit with your own choice of radio and engine.

Are buggies losing popularity to MT's?
 

Grampi,

One other option for you would be to start your own company. You could make all of your vehicles kits :-). In the end this may be the only way to get what you really want.