You all have great points but you also have to realize it simply we are evolving into a society that wants it now. A kit is great to learn but I find it also to be a great learning experiece when you take apart a RTR and put it back together with the upgrades that you like. It's the same affect not just so "old school".
Don't let the RTRs ruin your R/C experience for you. It's just a quick route into the R/C world from there, you take that little experience you learned from your RTR and build from it. Just my .02