8LikesAny American made cars left?
11-07-2011, 08:10 AM
#77
I think some guys are confused with china=cheap price=low quality
the only reason that china made cars are of relative low quality is because the price is more affordable for more people. that is the company business strategy. the company can choose to make $1200 cars in china, but the market will not buy it. only few hardcore racers who are willing to pay 1200 for a roller will not be able to support the business. that is why outsourcing brings down the cost, and thus the company can pass the cost savings to customers. so that more people can afford this hobby and play it more often. if you want to pay 1200 for a losi buggy roller, china can make it with the best material quality, fit tolerance, even manual w/o grammar mistakes. The quality is always proportional to the cost (not price).
the only reason that china made cars are of relative low quality is because the price is more affordable for more people. that is the company business strategy. the company can choose to make $1200 cars in china, but the market will not buy it. only few hardcore racers who are willing to pay 1200 for a roller will not be able to support the business. that is why outsourcing brings down the cost, and thus the company can pass the cost savings to customers. so that more people can afford this hobby and play it more often. if you want to pay 1200 for a losi buggy roller, china can make it with the best material quality, fit tolerance, even manual w/o grammar mistakes. The quality is always proportional to the cost (not price).
11-07-2011, 08:14 AM
#78
Tech Fanatic
iTrader: (22)
I think some guys are confused with china=cheap price=low quality
the only reason that china made cars are of relative low quality is because the price is more affordable for more people. that is the company business strategy. the company can choose to make $1200 cars in china, but the market will not buy it. only few hardcore racers who are willing to pay 1200 for a roller will not be able to support the business. that is why outsourcing brings down the cost, and thus the company can pass the cost savings to customers. so that more people can afford this hobby and play it more often. if you want to pay 1200 for a losi buggy roller, china can make it with the best material quality, fit tolerance, even manual w/o grammar mistakes. The quality is always proportional to the cost (not price).
the only reason that china made cars are of relative low quality is because the price is more affordable for more people. that is the company business strategy. the company can choose to make $1200 cars in china, but the market will not buy it. only few hardcore racers who are willing to pay 1200 for a roller will not be able to support the business. that is why outsourcing brings down the cost, and thus the company can pass the cost savings to customers. so that more people can afford this hobby and play it more often. if you want to pay 1200 for a losi buggy roller, china can make it with the best material quality, fit tolerance, even manual w/o grammar mistakes. The quality is always proportional to the cost (not price).
11-07-2011, 08:26 AM
#79
Brands are the result of marketing, not production. While there are a few things in the hobby where you can choose a product made in the USA (Novak for instance) even these products are made with foreign components. I'm willing to bet that your RC inventory is overwhealmingly made overseas.
11-07-2011, 09:59 AM
#81
If that were true then the Japanese (and German) auto makers would not continue to build factories here in the US. It is cheaper to produce off shore because the labor is cheaper, plain and simple. Get American workers to work for what the Chinese will work for (which would require doomsday level economic deflation) and you'll start to draw even.
11-07-2011, 10:07 AM
#82
Why? So abhorrent labor conditions can be made legal here? Thankfully USA is a great and proud nation and won't stand for forced labor, child labor, or $0.80/hr which is the current minimum wage in Mongolia.
11-07-2011, 10:26 AM
#83
why we outsource ?
a company wants to make profit, the bigger the profits the better.
a company wants to focus on its core buisness and save on overhead expenses.
a company wants to make profit, the bigger the profits the better.
a company wants to focus on its core buisness and save on overhead expenses.
11-07-2011, 03:00 PM
#84
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If that were true then the Japanese (and German) auto makers would not continue to build factories here in the US. It is cheaper to produce off shore because the labor is cheaper, plain and simple. Get American workers to work for what the Chinese will work for (which would require doomsday level economic deflation) and you'll start to draw even.
The reason Japanese and German auto makers set up shop here is a result of NAFTA. If those companies insisted on selling their cars on our soil, then they had to build them here.
11-07-2011, 03:58 PM
#85
Many GM vehicles are being made in Canada and Mexico now.
05-17-2017, 12:14 PM
#86
Funny you should ask, Ron, and thanks to The Family for the props. I just put the following post up on our thread in response to a question there:
"Yes Husky, we are an American company and proud of it. We occupy a small part of a larger building, so we have a large U.S. flag hanging on the wall inside -- it's the first thing you see when you walk in the door. And we are very proud of that particular flag. It was given to us by a Family member who was in the Air Force, and that flag flew with him on a combat mission in Iraq. It came with a certificate signed by the plane's pilot.
We buy everything possible from U.S. companies. If we lived in U.K. we'd buy from U.K. companies, if we lived in Japan we'd buy Japanese. Our tooling is U.S. made, the parts are molded in the U.S. out of plastic sourced from a U.S. manufacturer. (As with so many things, I'm not certain where the plastic was actually made.) We purchase from M.I.P. and Lunsford, both U.S. companies who do their work in California and Oregon respectively. Our hardware comes from a New Jersey company which buys from suppliers who import from Taiwan. (Not China.) As you may have figured out, we are extremely proud of X Factory quality. Some things cost a bit more than what we would pay in China, but we think The Family likes our American quality.
Buy X Factory and you won't be asking yourself, 'Why does everything have to be made in China?'"
"Yes Husky, we are an American company and proud of it. We occupy a small part of a larger building, so we have a large U.S. flag hanging on the wall inside -- it's the first thing you see when you walk in the door. And we are very proud of that particular flag. It was given to us by a Family member who was in the Air Force, and that flag flew with him on a combat mission in Iraq. It came with a certificate signed by the plane's pilot.
We buy everything possible from U.S. companies. If we lived in U.K. we'd buy from U.K. companies, if we lived in Japan we'd buy Japanese. Our tooling is U.S. made, the parts are molded in the U.S. out of plastic sourced from a U.S. manufacturer. (As with so many things, I'm not certain where the plastic was actually made.) We purchase from M.I.P. and Lunsford, both U.S. companies who do their work in California and Oregon respectively. Our hardware comes from a New Jersey company which buys from suppliers who import from Taiwan. (Not China.) As you may have figured out, we are extremely proud of X Factory quality. Some things cost a bit more than what we would pay in China, but we think The Family likes our American quality.
Buy X Factory and you won't be asking yourself, 'Why does everything have to be made in China?'"
05-17-2017, 04:09 PM
#87
Its ironic also, the same racers that complain about the local race scene and owners and said they would never race local, are now the same ones complaining there is no place local to race. I just recently told one of them to race a Amain raceway (8 hours drive from here) since that is where you purchased most of your stuff. I got crickets for a response.
05-18-2017, 08:04 AM
#88
If our cars were American made, would they be made by Americans anyway?
05-18-2017, 11:27 AM
#89
Its ironic also, the same racers that complain about the local race scene and owners and said they would never race local, are now the same ones complaining there is no place local to race. I just recently told one of them to race a Amain raceway (8 hours drive from here) since that is where you purchased most of your stuff. I got crickets for a response.
This is a fickle sport; small in comparison to other "common" sports and hobbies. We get the "you play with toy cars?" thing. We have those who think racing is easy and quit or put themselves in major debt, jumping from one chassis to another because they're not TQ'ing within 3 months.
I've known a lot of the track and hobby shop owners personally. Some are hobbyist like us, but have little to no business sense. Some were gifted a building due to family circumstances and when that family member was no longer interested, neither was the track owner. Some track owners strictly have dollar signs in their eyes; businessmen who "think" they know what they're doing and can do it better than the "previous guy". Others just weren't socially cut out to deal with the public, running their customers off with a bad temperament. Some let the fast guys run and setup the track, running off the sportsman and entry level guys. I've personally experienced tracks like this and more.
I race at and run the track in Destrehan, Louisiana just outside of New Orleans. This track has existed since the mid 90's. It is a non-profit, club ran track located in a public park. It was demolished by Katrina and still came back. It's secret: it's not dependent upon us pissy racers or those who just can't afford to spend more money on something that they can not only get cheaper, but have it shipped to their doorstep, all the while, not dealing with a hobby shop owner that may or may not have their racing interests as their priority. After all, they are in this to make money.
There are a few amazing permanent tracks that appear to have a lot of private money dumped into them. A good example is the track in Hutto, Texas: Thornhill Racing Circuit. Was a nice large outdoor track that has recently been completely covered. Not cheap to do that. I hope to get there one day to race on it.
In the meantime, I am grateful for our public tracks and those private tracks that are still open that I race at almost every week. The nearest hobby shop to me has been open since the mid 80's. And guess what? They purposely stay out of the world of RC racing; have never owned or been associated with a track and never will. Smartly so I suppose, as their business is stronger than ever. Aside from maybe some drill bits, tire glue or a Deans plug, this hobby shop does not sell one part for any of my race cars.
05-18-2017, 03:04 PM
#90
Would be nice if it were that simple. Having raced for 30 years, I've watched privately owned tracks come and go, seldom lasting more than 3 years.
This is a fickle sport; small in comparison to other "common" sports and hobbies. We get the "you play with toy cars?" thing. We have those who think racing is easy and quit or put themselves in major debt, jumping from one chassis to another because they're not TQ'ing within 3 months.
I've known a lot of the track and hobby shop owners personally. Some are hobbyist like us, but have little to no business sense. Some were gifted a building due to family circumstances and when that family member was no longer interested, neither was the track owner. Some track owners strictly have dollar signs in their eyes; businessmen who "think" they know what they're doing and can do it better than the "previous guy". Others just weren't socially cut out to deal with the public, running their customers off with a bad temperament. Some let the fast guys run and setup the track, running off the sportsman and entry level guys. I've personally experienced tracks like this and more.
I race at and run the track in Destrehan, Louisiana just outside of New Orleans. This track has existed since the mid 90's. It is a non-profit, club ran track located in a public park. It was demolished by Katrina and still came back. It's secret: it's not dependent upon us pissy racers or those who just can't afford to spend more money on something that they can not only get cheaper, but have it shipped to their doorstep, all the while, not dealing with a hobby shop owner that may or may not have their racing interests as their priority. After all, they are in this to make money.
There are a few amazing permanent tracks that appear to have a lot of private money dumped into them. A good example is the track in Hutto, Texas: Thornhill Racing Circuit. Was a nice large outdoor track that has recently been completely covered. Not cheap to do that. I hope to get there one day to race on it.
In the meantime, I am grateful for our public tracks and those private tracks that are still open that I race at almost every week. The nearest hobby shop to me has been open since the mid 80's. And guess what? They purposely stay out of the world of RC racing; have never owned or been associated with a track and never will. Smartly so I suppose, as their business is stronger than ever. Aside from maybe some drill bits, tire glue or a Deans plug, this hobby shop does not sell one part for any of my race cars.
This is a fickle sport; small in comparison to other "common" sports and hobbies. We get the "you play with toy cars?" thing. We have those who think racing is easy and quit or put themselves in major debt, jumping from one chassis to another because they're not TQ'ing within 3 months.
I've known a lot of the track and hobby shop owners personally. Some are hobbyist like us, but have little to no business sense. Some were gifted a building due to family circumstances and when that family member was no longer interested, neither was the track owner. Some track owners strictly have dollar signs in their eyes; businessmen who "think" they know what they're doing and can do it better than the "previous guy". Others just weren't socially cut out to deal with the public, running their customers off with a bad temperament. Some let the fast guys run and setup the track, running off the sportsman and entry level guys. I've personally experienced tracks like this and more.
I race at and run the track in Destrehan, Louisiana just outside of New Orleans. This track has existed since the mid 90's. It is a non-profit, club ran track located in a public park. It was demolished by Katrina and still came back. It's secret: it's not dependent upon us pissy racers or those who just can't afford to spend more money on something that they can not only get cheaper, but have it shipped to their doorstep, all the while, not dealing with a hobby shop owner that may or may not have their racing interests as their priority. After all, they are in this to make money.
There are a few amazing permanent tracks that appear to have a lot of private money dumped into them. A good example is the track in Hutto, Texas: Thornhill Racing Circuit. Was a nice large outdoor track that has recently been completely covered. Not cheap to do that. I hope to get there one day to race on it.
In the meantime, I am grateful for our public tracks and those private tracks that are still open that I race at almost every week. The nearest hobby shop to me has been open since the mid 80's. And guess what? They purposely stay out of the world of RC racing; have never owned or been associated with a track and never will. Smartly so I suppose, as their business is stronger than ever. Aside from maybe some drill bits, tire glue or a Deans plug, this hobby shop does not sell one part for any of my race cars.
Don't get me wrong, i purchased all my stuff from a local track when it existed. It was a sad day to see it go under too.
But how about considering this:a 'pop up' track. With a few rolls or carpet/astro, some lap counting kit (sounds cheap...) we could race anywhere-local skate rink, school gym, city gym? city sports field? A local (ish) hobby shop would turn up with essential items (tyres etc.) and they had no overheads-just bring some stock to cater for the local pipe smashers or that guy who blows a wad in a desperate bid to go 0.1 seconds faster!
It's basically how many clubs in the UK run. Outdoors permanent tracks are rare (and frequently underwater!) so we ended up in places like gyms/school halls. That way the club keeps going, races keep going and no reliance on a shop's success/failure.
When i came over from the UK, i envisaged a track on every corner-i was wrong. luckily, a track an hour away has gone carpet 'off road' every wednesday-good enough for me, i'll support it and buy from the shop when i need to. I'll also travel to Thornhill when they launch their junior astro track. it'll be great.
Back onto the thread, how many of you would pay a premium for a kit made in the USA anymore? US workers have bigger overheads than the Chinese/Taiwanese workers-someone has to pay for that.