Originally Posted by stickboy007

All fair points, and fully agreed. Freddy, I think it is worth noting that the older folks today who started with a Frog or Hornet, started at a time when there was less variety in the marketplace. For the "racing" machines in the early to mid '80's, it was basically 2wd buggy or pan car. Stadium truck hadn't made it to the scene yet, 4wd didn't really come up until the late '80's, short course was unheard of, etc. So it was a much simpler time then, and the marketing was not quite as aggressive, and the kids were...well...smarter (no offense, Bennett...hahahaha).

Tom's point speaks exactly to the evolution of r/c classes over time. If an on-road class were to be created somewhere nearby (r/c madness is too far away for me), it would have to be done with the expectation that racers would eventually go hog wild with modifications. That's part of the fun of it (for those who can afford it), but that doesn't mean the organizers can't still have a spec class with rigid rules. Look at Tamiya's TCS series as an example. It is an excellent series that has lasted something like 15-20 years now. It keeps the competition up and the expensive craziness down.