Well, if everyone keeps buying these cars at these prices and going gaga over factory team drivers (I still don't understand why people go crazy over factory team drivers and treat them as stars), nothing will change. Why should Xray cost hundreds more than any other brand? Because they won a toy race? Because it gives more fun than any other car, despite the fact that all these cars all perform the same after they are dialed in? I really do not understand this one bit. In real road racing, I can understand 100%. All cars in the real world are built a certain way that perform with little to no modification. Not to mention you can drive and be part of the car and get your money's worth. This hobby is trying too much to be like real road racing. I can understand simulating the fun, but trying to be the real thing is getting out of hand.
Like Chris Kee mentioned about foam tires going from $20 to $6.
Sounds like these companies are price-gouging the customer. I think I will stick with a Team Associated or Robitronic AVID car since they are moderately priced and perform just as well as an Xray or some other overpriced brand, once they get dialed-in.
There could be more to this than I understand, but at this point and the condition of the tough times ahead, I think companies should be just as loyal to their fans and treat them right with some sort of sympathy. If this hobby is to be more successful and more mainstream, prices need to come down. Brand names influencing costs is just plain rediculous. Porsche, I can understand. They have a LONG history of producing quality cars and are reasonably affordable! Ferrari, I can understand. They also have a LONG history of quality cars, though not reasonably priced. Same with Lamborghini, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, etc. Those cars have a long and rich history to warrant why they should cost the amount they cost. Plus they even treat their customers properly with long term customer incentives such as price reduction, higher trade-in value, etc. The only other hobby car producer that I can think of that gives incentives to keep buying their cars is Motonica. They have trade-ins for old parts and help keep costs down on newer parts. I hope Motonica does extremely well for thinking about their customers like this.
As far as the nitro cars and engines costing an arm and a leg because of exchange rates, I can't say much about that. However, old technology is old technology. Nitro engines as a whole have barely changed in terms of innovation. They still function exactly the same way as they always have. With electric cars, look how far they have come. From 5 years ago till now, I see a MASSIVE evolution with the electric scene. From the nitro scene, nada. Maybe some extra fins on the engine, bigger holes here and there, but other than that, nothing. Plus the 1/10 nitro scene is just hilarious. I love the swiss-cheese bodies. They really kill the look and appeal of the car. They should use RCGT bodies on nitro 10th scale as well as nitro 8th scale. They would make more sense for the engine sticking out as well as the gas tank for faster pit stops.
This is all just my own opinion. I do not want to say anyone is wrong or even enforce my views on anyone else. My main goal is to provide another avenue of thought about the hobby and its costs which for the most part, detract newcomers to the hobby.
