My personal opinion is that it will probably fall to the wayside, but it is hard to say. We have as many sponsored truggy racers as we do buggy drivers. I think it is based on location more than everything. I have been putting a lot of thought and effort into an idea that I came up with as soon as I saw the Slash. I noticed that Jang did a conversion that I am going to do and I personally think it will solve a lot of problems and grow the sport.
This idea is basically to put a slash body on an 1/8 scale buggy. Here is why I think it will be big. You can have immediate rivalry between all manufacturers, it is easy to convert over, you have the unlimited class that already exists, no spec class complaints, you can do gas or electric, it will perform just like a 1/8 buggy, but it will look just like a corr truck.
My research has shown that people who are outside the hobby do not like the look or understand the look of the current 1/10 scale trucks and truggys. I believe if we as an industry embrace my idea, it will grow as everyone can relate to a pick up truck and everyone can have a Ford, Chevy, etc....
At that point, the Slash class becomes more of a novice/fun class yet the unlimited class using 1/8 scales will be for the true racers. What is even better is that a person could just pull the front driveshaft and have a 2wd class. The possibilities are endless. I personally would like to see a marshall-less main where you flip over, you are done, just like real life.