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Puttin’ the “L” Back into TLR...

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Puttin’ the “L” Back into TLR...

Old 09-11-2019, 03:24 PM
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Default Puttin’ the “L” Back into TLR...

Since normal people aren’t able to post in the “Industry News” thread, I guess this forum is the closest to “relevant” for this post...

Horizon Hobby announces today that Gil Losi Jr. has rejoined TLR in a consultory role with the division. As a consultant, he’ll be working directly with the design team to work on the “next generation” of vehicles for the company. Of course, there was no mention of how immediate this relationship will bear fruit, but I would imagine that this will bode well for the industry as a whole - Gil revolutionized the design of 1/10th scale off-road cars with his ideas years ago - even though I’ve always been an Associated guy, I’m really curious to know if he’s still got some really cool ideas rolling around in his head.

Grab your popcorn, people. I have a feeling that 1/10th off-road (and maybe even 1/8th!) is gonna get really interesting fairly soon.
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Old 09-11-2019, 03:30 PM
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Originally Posted by TurnNBurn
Since normal people aren’t able to post in the “Industry News” thread, I guess this forum is the closest to “relevant” for this post...

Horizon Hobby announces today that Gil Losi Jr. has rejoined TLR in a consultory role with the division. As a consultant, he’ll be working directly with the design team to work on the “next generation” of vehicles for the co pant. Of course, there was no mention of how immediate this relationship will bear fruit, but I would imagine that this will bode well for the industry as a whole - Gil revolutionized the design of 1/10th scale off-road cars with his ideas years ago - even though I’ve always been an Associated guy, I’m really curious to know if he’s still got some really cool ideas rolling around in his head.

Grab your popcorn, people. I have a feeling that 1/10th off-road (and maybe even 1/8th!) is gonna get really interesting fairly soon.
i wonder if Gil had worked on the new 4wd with tlr previous to his hiring? Sounds a bit coincidental? Its a good thing, just saying
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Old 09-11-2019, 05:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Funkydrummer1
i wonder if Gil had worked on the new 4wd with tlr previous to his hiring? Sounds a bit coincidental? Its a good thing, just saying
I posed the same question over in that “New TLR 4WD” thread, lol.
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Old 09-11-2019, 10:07 PM
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https://www.liverc.com/news/special_features/20386-TALK_IT_UP_TUESDAY%3A_AKA_Products_Gil_Losi_Jr./

"LiveRC: Do you have any involvement with the TLR or Losi brands anymore?

Gil: I do some consulting work for TLR from time to time when they need my knowledge."

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Old 09-12-2019, 08:31 AM
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I think this will be good for TLR. Im looking forward to see what vision Gil has.
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Old 09-12-2019, 01:46 PM
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Originally Posted by JDMR
I think this will be good for TLR. Im looking forward to see what vision Gil has.
Hydra Drive 2.0!
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Old 09-12-2019, 06:03 PM
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Originally Posted by RazorRC
Hydra Drive 2.0!
I second that. Lol
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Old 09-12-2019, 07:36 PM
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Super excited to have Gil back
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Old 09-12-2019, 07:48 PM
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Originally Posted by tony montana
Super excited to have Gil back
Won’t matter as he has already been consulting for them. That’s like when a sports team brings in a big star player, does not make them suddenly win a championship. They need to change the culture which is really hard to do.
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Old 09-13-2019, 09:38 AM
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Originally Posted by Mickey_B


Won’t matter as he has already been consulting for them. That’s like when a sports team brings in a big star player, does not make them suddenly win a championship. They need to change the culture which is really hard to do.
True words. Still, I am excited that they bring back Junior into the Team. The next TLR I'll buy will be my first "real" Team Losi car. The first Losi (Strike) bought was developed way after he left, and IIRC by a different company.
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Old 09-13-2019, 09:46 AM
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Nothing wrong with the culture at TLR.
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Old 09-13-2019, 09:48 AM
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Call me optimistic, but if they formally announced this relationship, I would imagine that he is going to be more involved in the design process than he has before. If his involvement won’t be any different from the level of “consulting” he was doing before, why bother announcing it?

Again, I have no horse in this race, but I do recognize the contributions he has made in the past to the industry. Maybe he’s got something left in the tank, maybe it will amount to nothing - but in the short term, at least I think it will be exciting to think about what could unfold from this.
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Old 09-13-2019, 10:17 AM
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Originally Posted by tony montana
Nothing wrong with the culture at TLR.
Culture is a big term, but I'd say there's much work to do around the globe. In Germany and maybe even Europe, at least their 1/10th scale vehicles have become a relatively rare sight. One of our club members was featured in a domestic RC news outlet because of his exotic ride, being the only TLR at the nationals last week. From what I've heard from various sources, the Italian guy who acts as a European team manager and is based in Germany is focused 100 % on 1/8th scale and decided not to import the 22 5.0 dirt car. There are a few guys left running TLR stuff in our region, maybe because they have a contract of sorts, but they did not bother to turn up at the nationals. It is such a pity because I feel TLR's products are on par with the competition and few racers seem to appreciate it because of bad communication, management and distribution channels. To me, Team Losi (and that's what I will call it again) has been one of the most iconic RC brands since I started with the hobby in the late 80s, and it surely deserves a better market presence.
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Old 09-13-2019, 12:18 PM
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Originally Posted by mes
Culture is a big term, but I'd say there's much work to do around the globe. In Germany and maybe even Europe, at least their 1/10th scale vehicles have become a relatively rare sight. One of our club members was featured in a domestic RC news outlet because of his exotic ride, being the only TLR at the nationals last week. From what I've heard from various sources, the Italian guy who acts as a European team manager and is based in Germany is focused 100 % on 1/8th scale and decided not to import the 22 5.0 dirt car. There are a few guys left running TLR stuff in our region, maybe because they have a contract of sorts, but they did not bother to turn up at the nationals. It is such a pity because I feel TLR's products are on par with the competition and few racers seem to appreciate it because of bad communication, management and distribution channels. To me, Team Losi (and that's what I will call it again) has been one of the most iconic RC brands since I started with the hobby in the late 80s, and it surely deserves a better market presence.
Do you guys feel that Xray is #2 in popularity at the club level in the US (after AE) now? I used to feel it was TLR, now I'm not so sure.
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Old 09-13-2019, 01:06 PM
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Originally Posted by RazorRC
Do you guys feel that Xray is #2 in popularity at the club level in the US (after AE) now? I used to feel it was TLR, now I'm not so sure.
As someone just returning to the hobby after a long time, I feel like the “culture” as a whole has experienced a big shift. Meaning, the amount of investment in “Factory drivers” appears to have waned compared to years ago. On the one hand, I’d blame it on an industry slump, but even when I last ran, the difference between when I got into the hobby (which was booming in the late 80’s- early 90’s was vastly different to how I saw it between 2000-2003 when I had to hang up my radio. Whereas you spoke of factory drivers by the half-dozens years ago, it seems (to me anyway) that the teams are investing heavily on one, maybe two guys.

For Associated, Spencer Rivkin comes to mind - and granted, he’s not even an Associated/Reedy driver - perhaps due to the need for Pro drivers to diversify in the modern age for the purpose of multiple revenue streams. I was a bit surprised about Cavaleiri’s move away from Associated, especially after so many years (I could probably say likewise about Jared Tebo and his Kyosho affiliation) but TBH, I’m not sure if it was a matter of the companies scaling back on costs, or driver’s feeling the need to move on to better their personal situations.

TLR seems to have scaled back significantly in the HH era - In catching up with going ons, I noticed that Adam Drake had left TLR. You could say that he probably might have beeen the equivalent of a “lifer” in Pro Sports - the guy who ends up playing for the same team his entire career. So it was kinda shocking to see him at Mugen. And to be honest, maybe Mugen seiki is better as a result. So many drivers once upon a time, and now it’s like Dakotah Phend is left alone holding the banner.

Xray is an interesting story, because they seem to want to aggressively capture significant market share, not to mention that Yokomo also made some bold moves in acquiring some top talent in Ryan Maifield and Lee Martin over in the UK.

Anyway, crazy Off-Topic, I know, and I apologize - but in some way, I can’t help but think that it’s somewhat relevant if you want to bring “culture” into the discussion - and it’s not just when talking about TLR.


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