97LikesHas Tamiya killed any hope of AE making another On road car?
12-17-2020, 02:32 PM
#47
12-17-2020, 03:03 PM
#48
When AE was in TC, majority ran the car as it was US based, track hobby shops carried the car and spares. So just in sheer numbers / statistics it had great possibly of winning at those events. Factor in the number of local sponsored drivers and the odds of a Tamiya podium diminishes further.
As far as the cars are concerned.. in the past decade, Xray and Yokomo are the ones that come up with new features and both AE and Tamiya were always a step behind. I don’t list AMX as I consider them in a league of their own.
Additionally, comparing the last iteration of TC7.2 versus the 419XR.. the AE had nothing up on the Tamiya.
12-17-2020, 03:12 PM
#49
Next thread topic.
Has Honda killed any hope of Jeep making a sedan?
Has Honda killed any hope of Jeep making a sedan?
12-17-2020, 04:06 PM
#50
Good read here, a few things come to mind. The closest thing to a Tamiya car Associated built was the apex touring, and it was a pile. Also not real sure if the tc7.2 will still be all that competitive for years to come, were headed to all aluminum chassis/mid motor for everything unless people stop wanting tracks with mega grip surfaces. Last thought is AE simply wasn't going to stay with onroad just for the purists, it's about sales at the end of the day. I wouldn't say never making an onroad car again but definitely not when demand is low. I'd bet they're making good money selling those sc10's with drag bodies....because that's where the money is right now.
12-17-2020, 05:09 PM
#51
Good read here, a few things come to mind. The closest thing to a Tamiya car Associated built was the apex touring, and it was a pile. Also not real sure if the tc7.2 will still be all that competitive for years to come, were headed to all aluminum chassis/mid motor for everything unless people stop wanting tracks with mega grip surfaces. Last thought is AE simply wasn't going to stay with onroad just for the purists, it's about sales at the end of the day. I wouldn't say never making an onroad car again but definitely not when demand is low. I'd bet they're making good money selling those sc10's with drag bodies....because that's where the money is right now.
12-17-2020, 09:51 PM
#52
Inline to your own statement about Reinhard winning with a HotBodies, it has more to do with drivers than the car.
When AE was in TC, majority ran the car as it was US based, track hobby shops carried the car and spares. So just in sheer numbers / statistics it had great possibly of winning at those events. Factor in the number of local sponsored drivers and the odds of a Tamiya podium diminishes further.
As far as the cars are concerned.. in the past decade, Xray and Yokomo are the ones that come up with new features and both AE and Tamiya were always a step behind. I don’t list AMX as I consider them in a league of their own.
Additionally, comparing the last iteration of TC7.2 versus the 419XR.. the AE had nothing up on the Tamiya.
When AE was in TC, majority ran the car as it was US based, track hobby shops carried the car and spares. So just in sheer numbers / statistics it had great possibly of winning at those events. Factor in the number of local sponsored drivers and the odds of a Tamiya podium diminishes further.
As far as the cars are concerned.. in the past decade, Xray and Yokomo are the ones that come up with new features and both AE and Tamiya were always a step behind. I don’t list AMX as I consider them in a league of their own.
Additionally, comparing the last iteration of TC7.2 versus the 419XR.. the AE had nothing up on the Tamiya.
Sure the availability of AE encouraged the popularity, but I was running Tamiya until they ended the TRF team. I'm not interested in a car that is unable to prove competitive viability/benefit of any features besides on a drawing board, or solely on my own.
Interesting to say X-ray and Yokomo come up with more new features than AE or Tamiya though. Most major feature updates used on most TCs in the past few years have been Awesomatix innovations with each other of the stated companies creating only one or two unique features of their own.
Last edited by Tremor24; 12-17-2020 at 10:04 PM.
12-19-2020, 05:40 AM
#53
Tech Master
The posts in this thread shows how US oriented your view is. In the rest of the world when Associated announced they were pulling out of on-road everyone said "so what?"
Outside of North America Associated has been a very minor player in the market. The big brands in touring car worldwide are firstly Xray and Yokomo, then second tier brands which tend to be more localised are Awesomatix, Infinity, Schumacher and yes,Tamiya. In 1/12 Associated hasn't been a competitive brand since the L4, the go to 1/12 cars are Xray, Roche, CRC. Schumacher and Yokomo. Associated came very late to the F1 market, while US racers might have rushed out to buy one the rest of the world didn't. Why buy an Associated F1 when the races are being dominated by Xray, with Serpent, Infinity, Charisma, CRC and Roche cars all being competitive.
For the rest of the world Associated hasn't been seen as a competitive option for on-road for years, and they aren't maximising their resources producing cars that are only going to sell in limited numbers in one country. Associated have a limited number of designers available, they have taken the decision that instead of them spending their time developing another 1/12 or touring car that's going to sell in relatively small numbers they are better off developing stuff like the DR10 and SR10, which are going to dominate those classes in sales numbers. Why waste warehouse space keeping parts in stock for a car that sells in limited numbers when that shelf space could hold parts for new cars that will sell well instead. Even for none racers the SR10 and DR10 are going to appeal to bashers as fun cars, while none of them are going to buy a TC7 or RC12R6.
The RC industry as a whole is contracting right now, many companies have disappeared. Associated are just replacing an unprofitable section of their business with something that's going to be more successful.
Outside of North America Associated has been a very minor player in the market. The big brands in touring car worldwide are firstly Xray and Yokomo, then second tier brands which tend to be more localised are Awesomatix, Infinity, Schumacher and yes,Tamiya. In 1/12 Associated hasn't been a competitive brand since the L4, the go to 1/12 cars are Xray, Roche, CRC. Schumacher and Yokomo. Associated came very late to the F1 market, while US racers might have rushed out to buy one the rest of the world didn't. Why buy an Associated F1 when the races are being dominated by Xray, with Serpent, Infinity, Charisma, CRC and Roche cars all being competitive.
For the rest of the world Associated hasn't been seen as a competitive option for on-road for years, and they aren't maximising their resources producing cars that are only going to sell in limited numbers in one country. Associated have a limited number of designers available, they have taken the decision that instead of them spending their time developing another 1/12 or touring car that's going to sell in relatively small numbers they are better off developing stuff like the DR10 and SR10, which are going to dominate those classes in sales numbers. Why waste warehouse space keeping parts in stock for a car that sells in limited numbers when that shelf space could hold parts for new cars that will sell well instead. Even for none racers the SR10 and DR10 are going to appeal to bashers as fun cars, while none of them are going to buy a TC7 or RC12R6.
The RC industry as a whole is contracting right now, many companies have disappeared. Associated are just replacing an unprofitable section of their business with something that's going to be more successful.
12-19-2020, 06:58 AM
#54
Tech Prophet
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The posts in this thread shows how US oriented your view is. In the rest of the world when Associated announced they were pulling out of on-road everyone said "so what?"
Outside of North America Associated has been a very minor player in the market. The big brands in touring car worldwide are firstly Xray and Yokomo, then second tier brands which tend to be more localised are Awesomatix, Infinity, Schumacher and yes,Tamiya. In 1/12 Associated hasn't been a competitive brand since the L4, the go to 1/12 cars are Xray, Roche, CRC. Schumacher and Yokomo. Associated came very late to the F1 market, while US racers might have rushed out to buy one the rest of the world didn't. Why buy an Associated F1 when the races are being dominated by Xray, with Serpent, Infinity, Charisma, CRC and Roche cars all being competitive.
For the rest of the world Associated hasn't been seen as a competitive option for on-road for years, and they aren't maximising their resources producing cars that are only going to sell in limited numbers in one country. Associated have a limited number of designers available, they have taken the decision that instead of them spending their time developing another 1/12 or touring car that's going to sell in relatively small numbers they are better off developing stuff like the DR10 and SR10, which are going to dominate those classes in sales numbers. Why waste warehouse space keeping parts in stock for a car that sells in limited numbers when that shelf space could hold parts for new cars that will sell well instead. Even for none racers the SR10 and DR10 are going to appeal to bashers as fun cars, while none of them are going to buy a TC7 or RC12R6.
The RC industry as a whole is contracting right now, many companies have disappeared. Associated are just replacing an unprofitable section of their business with something that's going to be more successful.
Outside of North America Associated has been a very minor player in the market. The big brands in touring car worldwide are firstly Xray and Yokomo, then second tier brands which tend to be more localised are Awesomatix, Infinity, Schumacher and yes,Tamiya. In 1/12 Associated hasn't been a competitive brand since the L4, the go to 1/12 cars are Xray, Roche, CRC. Schumacher and Yokomo. Associated came very late to the F1 market, while US racers might have rushed out to buy one the rest of the world didn't. Why buy an Associated F1 when the races are being dominated by Xray, with Serpent, Infinity, Charisma, CRC and Roche cars all being competitive.
For the rest of the world Associated hasn't been seen as a competitive option for on-road for years, and they aren't maximising their resources producing cars that are only going to sell in limited numbers in one country. Associated have a limited number of designers available, they have taken the decision that instead of them spending their time developing another 1/12 or touring car that's going to sell in relatively small numbers they are better off developing stuff like the DR10 and SR10, which are going to dominate those classes in sales numbers. Why waste warehouse space keeping parts in stock for a car that sells in limited numbers when that shelf space could hold parts for new cars that will sell well instead. Even for none racers the SR10 and DR10 are going to appeal to bashers as fun cars, while none of them are going to buy a TC7 or RC12R6.
The RC industry as a whole is contracting right now, many companies have disappeared. Associated are just replacing an unprofitable section of their business with something that's going to be more successful.
12-19-2020, 07:06 AM
#55
Tech Addict
A bit inappropriate analogy is Tamiya is like Toyota, who makes all sorts of cars (models) and sell it to everywhere. Whereas Associated is GMC, mainly focusing on the United States and focusing onTrucks and SUV(off road).
12-19-2020, 06:17 PM
#56
I remember catching a fellow Amx800 driver with my badly setup Ft tc4.2 : the old AE stuff can still cut it with a little attention...Tamiya has not killed any hope for an AE comeback kit....
12-20-2020, 11:00 AM
#57
Look at the 3 biggest RC brands in the US: AE, Losi/TLR and Traxxas. Losi/TLR hasn't been in the onroad since....I really don't know it's before my time in the hobby, 10+ years. Traxxas has the 4TEC, but I'm guessing it's less than 2% of their product sales. And then you had AE who did a good job of making both. Talking to the owner of the local Hobbytown, he told me they would sell maybe 1 onroad car for every 10-20 offroad. Most customers where crawlers (in recent years) or bashers.
So when you look at demand, there's just isn't as much onroad business. And considering outside this pandemic, the RC industry hasn't been doing well, it's no surprise AE exited that business. Especially when they were purchased by another company. In business you have to go where the customers are.
Tamiya is fairly diversified and has a good long standing reputation. This can be seen, by the fact they keep releasing classic and comical series. Can you imagine if AE released something like the Lunchbox mini? I think they would be laughed at. But Tamiya releases it and it's popular.
Also when you look globally, the growth market is Asia. Which brands are common, popular and available in Asia? Some I've barely heard of because they aren't widely distributed here in the US and some I've never heard of like Infinity.
But on the positive side, that opens the door for other smaller brands to gain market share and competition drives innovation and competitive prices.
So when you look at demand, there's just isn't as much onroad business. And considering outside this pandemic, the RC industry hasn't been doing well, it's no surprise AE exited that business. Especially when they were purchased by another company. In business you have to go where the customers are.
Tamiya is fairly diversified and has a good long standing reputation. This can be seen, by the fact they keep releasing classic and comical series. Can you imagine if AE released something like the Lunchbox mini? I think they would be laughed at. But Tamiya releases it and it's popular.
Also when you look globally, the growth market is Asia. Which brands are common, popular and available in Asia? Some I've barely heard of because they aren't widely distributed here in the US and some I've never heard of like Infinity.
But on the positive side, that opens the door for other smaller brands to gain market share and competition drives innovation and competitive prices.
12-20-2020, 11:20 AM
#58
Like i said previously in this thread it was toatally a business decision. Gotta go where you make the money. If by some remote chance AE came back into the on-road scene I think I would have a tough time giving up my 3Racing Advance S, and the S64. That's just me though.
12-21-2020, 01:09 PM
#59
The posts in this thread shows how US oriented your view is. In the rest of the world when Associated announced they were pulling out of on-road everyone said "so what?"
Outside of North America Associated has been a very minor player in the market. The big brands in touring car worldwide are firstly Xray and Yokomo, then second tier brands which tend to be more localised are Awesomatix, Infinity, Schumacher and yes,Tamiya. In 1/12 Associated hasn't been a competitive brand since the L4, the go to 1/12 cars are Xray, Roche, CRC. Schumacher and Yokomo. Associated came very late to the F1 market, while US racers might have rushed out to buy one the rest of the world didn't. Why buy an Associated F1 when the races are being dominated by Xray, with Serpent, Infinity, Charisma, CRC and Roche cars all being competitive.
For the rest of the world Associated hasn't been seen as a competitive option for on-road for years, and they aren't maximising their resources producing cars that are only going to sell in limited numbers in one country. Associated have a limited number of designers available, they have taken the decision that instead of them spending their time developing another 1/12 or touring car that's going to sell in relatively small numbers they are better off developing stuff like the DR10 and SR10, which are going to dominate those classes in sales numbers. Why waste warehouse space keeping parts in stock for a car that sells in limited numbers when that shelf space could hold parts for new cars that will sell well instead. Even for none racers the SR10 and DR10 are going to appeal to bashers as fun cars, while none of them are going to buy a TC7 or RC12R6.
The RC industry as a whole is contracting right now, many companies have disappeared. Associated are just replacing an unprofitable section of their business with something that's going to be more successful.
Outside of North America Associated has been a very minor player in the market. The big brands in touring car worldwide are firstly Xray and Yokomo, then second tier brands which tend to be more localised are Awesomatix, Infinity, Schumacher and yes,Tamiya. In 1/12 Associated hasn't been a competitive brand since the L4, the go to 1/12 cars are Xray, Roche, CRC. Schumacher and Yokomo. Associated came very late to the F1 market, while US racers might have rushed out to buy one the rest of the world didn't. Why buy an Associated F1 when the races are being dominated by Xray, with Serpent, Infinity, Charisma, CRC and Roche cars all being competitive.
For the rest of the world Associated hasn't been seen as a competitive option for on-road for years, and they aren't maximising their resources producing cars that are only going to sell in limited numbers in one country. Associated have a limited number of designers available, they have taken the decision that instead of them spending their time developing another 1/12 or touring car that's going to sell in relatively small numbers they are better off developing stuff like the DR10 and SR10, which are going to dominate those classes in sales numbers. Why waste warehouse space keeping parts in stock for a car that sells in limited numbers when that shelf space could hold parts for new cars that will sell well instead. Even for none racers the SR10 and DR10 are going to appeal to bashers as fun cars, while none of them are going to buy a TC7 or RC12R6.
The RC industry as a whole is contracting right now, many companies have disappeared. Associated are just replacing an unprofitable section of their business with something that's going to be more successful.
As for Honda and Jeep,
I think Jeep ruined their own chances. They make a better off-road car than an on-road car.
12-21-2020, 02:09 PM
#60
Tech Prophet
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This is quite true. This hobby is a completely different monster in other parts of the world. Here in the U.S., when someone mentions Tamiya, we think of the Frog, the Grasshopper, and scale model cars. When you speak of AE, we think off-road buggies. As I mentioned before, I believe AE got out of on-rad racing for the same reason Tamiya got out of off-road racing.
As for Honda and Jeep,
I think Jeep ruined their own chances. They make a better off-road car than an on-road car.
As for Honda and Jeep,
I think Jeep ruined their own chances. They make a better off-road car than an on-road car.