what has losi become....
11-20-2008, 07:46 AM
#16
Losi is doing just fine. They don't need a new 4wd car because the market (which is very small) is already saturated with designs and Losi's (XXX4 and XX4WE) are still selling some units. There's no money in designing a new car there.
Here's a question regarding the "race on Sunday, sell on Monday" theory (not that I disagree), after the last worlds (Mark Pavidis won with a Kyosho) in Indonesia, the worlds that Losi didn't even send a team to, who do you think sold more cars in the US? Losi or Kyosho?
11-20-2008, 08:23 AM
#18
Toyota's guys showed them that they were making 6 different cars that shared absolutely NO parts. Toyota's guys showed them that to be successful they had to share parts and platforms and make production more efficient. Ever notice the 911, Boxter and Cayman all look the same from the windshield forward? They are (think XXXT, Desert Truck, Oval car here). Porche is now very successful selling cars that cost as much as a condo and aren't practical. Who'd a' thunk it?
Now they sell a GREAT many more cars that every soccer mom with any income wants to have. The company has changed its focus, from racing to selling more cars, and that means putting crap like the Cayman that just puts more cars in driveways, great if you sell something to people driving 2.3 kids to basketball, a horror if you long for the days of "real Porsche"....losi is doing the same thing.
11-20-2008, 08:58 AM
#21
Toyota showed Porsche how to sell something to everyone not just the auto enthusiast. Before Porsche was known as a drivers car, a racers car. Cars that won in races, you could take that 356,speedster or 911 from the showroom and go race....they where race cars for the street. R&D went into things like the 917, 908 and such, then that motor tech went into 911 GT cars, still comp racing cars and then it ended up in that 911 or even a 968 that you could drive on the street....But there are a entire group of people out there that you where not selling cars to...people that think Porsche is cool and if they only made an SUV...makes me want to puke.
Now they sell a GREAT many more cars that every soccer mom with any income wants to have. The company has changed its focus, from racing to selling more cars, and that means putting crap like the Cayman that just puts more cars in driveways, great if you sell something to people driving 2.3 kids to basketball, a horror if you long for the days of "real Porsche"....losi is doing the same thing.
Now they sell a GREAT many more cars that every soccer mom with any income wants to have. The company has changed its focus, from racing to selling more cars, and that means putting crap like the Cayman that just puts more cars in driveways, great if you sell something to people driving 2.3 kids to basketball, a horror if you long for the days of "real Porsche"....losi is doing the same thing.
11-20-2008, 08:59 AM
#22
It was nice when Team Losi was family owned and dedicated to racing, alot of really innovative stuff was designed during that time.
11-20-2008, 09:13 AM
#23
Look at the big picture, and the big picture is is that racing is but a small portion of sales.
How many rtr cars/bashers are sold compared to a racing kit? I'd be willing to be it's probably a 10:1 ratio or pretty close.
How many rtr cars/bashers are sold compared to a racing kit? I'd be willing to be it's probably a 10:1 ratio or pretty close.
11-20-2008, 09:16 AM
#24
Tech Fanatic
iTrader: (1)
That's believable...as Sr sold the Losi Brand to Horizon right around the same time Jr went to go work for Kyosho America in 2001.
Jay
11-20-2008, 09:50 AM
#26
Like I have been trying to say, is it better to have a small company with a small overhead that sells something to a small group of very loyal people. Or is it better to sell tons of stuff, and then have to have a larger overhead to keep up with the demand and sell that stuff to people that are buying it because of a name...and when that does not mean anything anymore what happens next...ask some guys named Wagoner, Nardelli and Mulally?
What company will make more money when all the bills are paid....good question, but I know what will happen to the company that built itself and its reputation on one type of product then is building another.
11-20-2008, 10:16 AM
#27
I think RTR's are one of the best things to happen. It gets people who did not have the ability to build a full on race kit a chance to get into hobby grade RC.
Once they get hooked, they may upgrade to a higher quality kit.....
It also encourages these drivers to go to the LHS for help, advice and parts.
JMO....
Once they get hooked, they may upgrade to a higher quality kit.....
It also encourages these drivers to go to the LHS for help, advice and parts.
JMO....
11-20-2008, 10:47 AM
#29
As did I and 7 years later I end up with a "race KIT" if the military taught me anything it was to not be lazy and do things the right way the first time. Ended up saving money getting the parts I was actually gonna use right off the bat instead of buying stuff I would soon replace to be competitive.
11-20-2008, 11:18 AM
#30
I hope this does not get nasty...but here it goes.
Times where different even as close as 10years ago, to put stuff in big bags we are a nation of consumers, we don't want to build anything anymore, we want it and we want it now and when it stops working we toss it in the trash and buy another one. Some have called this the Wallmart Syndrome, and feel it is part of what is wrong with this country.
Don't get me wrong there is a need for a RTR, but who over the age of 10 can't build a kit? "It gets people who did not have the ability to build a full on race kit..." Who are these people?
I guess I come from a different generation...one where you built things, everything from Heath kits to RC cars. Making it was part of the fun, and when it did not work just right you knew how to fix it.
Times where different even as close as 10years ago, to put stuff in big bags we are a nation of consumers, we don't want to build anything anymore, we want it and we want it now and when it stops working we toss it in the trash and buy another one. Some have called this the Wallmart Syndrome, and feel it is part of what is wrong with this country.
Don't get me wrong there is a need for a RTR, but who over the age of 10 can't build a kit? "It gets people who did not have the ability to build a full on race kit..." Who are these people?
I guess I come from a different generation...one where you built things, everything from Heath kits to RC cars. Making it was part of the fun, and when it did not work just right you knew how to fix it.