# Why Aren't Slot Cars More Popular Today ???



## A/GS

I find it baffling that this hobby of Slot Cars isn't even more popular today than it has been in the past. Model Railroading appears to have grown in popularity over the years. And as any one of us here can attest to Slot Cars provide much more fun and excitement than Model Trains ever could. I have both and that's the way I see it. Is it poor marketing and advertising ? Not enough stores promoting and carrying the product such as Wal-Mart and Toys-R-US ? Is it possible that the introduction of a new scale; such as N scale slot cars could help the hobby grow like it did with Model Trains ? What is your opinion ? I have no real answers; just a lot of questions.


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## slotcarman12078

In a nutshell... Video games won the minds of our offspring and theirs. Heck, kids are getting their first cell phones in 1st grade. Video didn't kill just the radio star....


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## blue55conv

Model railroading is also declining. The products are better than ever, but the average age of the model railroader is growing every year. When I was a kid, everyone wanted a train or slot car set for Christmas. Now the video games have taken over. I went back home for Thanksgiving. The kids never stopped playing the games on TV while I was there. They played all night. When a game was in progress, other kids switched to games on their phones. They never spoke to the adults.


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## alpink

it is a Chinese conspiracy.
the "vidiots" are being brainwashed and programmed.
one day they will eliminate the older citizens and then have no way to fend for themselves.
then the HORDE will move in and take over with NO resistance.


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## blue55conv

Some people try to defend the video game movement. They say it develops mental skills. I say it is mindless. I play Spider Solitaire or video jigsaw puzzles while I am watching TV. It keeps me from doing something productive, like working on my slots.


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## A/GS

alpink said:


> it is a Chinese conspiracy.
> the "vidiots" are being brainwashed and programmed.
> one day they will eliminate the older citizens and then have no way to fend for themselves.
> then the HORDE will move in and take over with NO resistance.


Thanks Al for your invaluable input. Sincerely, ....the nearly always requesting forgiveness / cowering crud....A/GS. :thumbsup:


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## Serge

When we have a dinner party, my friend's kids have every opportunity to race on my 4 lane Maxx Track. They are so used to just pressing a reset button on their computer games, they can't believe someone actually has to walk over to a de-slotted car and physically put it back on the track! Racing last about 3.5 seconds.


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## gonegonzo

First , let me say that Al hit it on the head as for the younger folks as confirmed by Serge .

For the older folks , the POLITICS , back stabbing , arguing over rules and other details and the fact that everybody wants to DRIVE THE TRAIN .

Just go back to "Road Rac'n" with your buddies and forget why what's happening to the hobby . Maybe then the hobby will return without all of the CHAOS .

Gonzo


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## A/GS

gonegonzo said:


> First , let me say that Al hit it on the head as for the younger folks as confirmed by Serge .
> 
> For the older folks , the POLITICS , back stabbing , arguing over rules and other details and the fact that everybody wants to DRIVE THE TRAIN .
> 
> Just go back to "Road Rac'n" with your buddies and forget why what's happening to the hobby . Maybe then the hobby will return without all of the CHAOS .
> 
> Gonzo


Back stabbing, driving trains ? I really don't see how I'm causing any " CHAOS " for the hobby. I think you're greatly over estimating my influence to affect the hobby in any way or manner. As for going back to " Road Rac'n " with my buddies; I'll give your suggestion the consideration due it. Thank you very much for your input; although much of it went over my head. Have a better one. :wave:


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## A/GS

I can't accept the video game excuse for the decline of slot car interest. Hobby shops are packed to the roof with model trains and their accessories. As for a decline in model train interest I have seen quite the opposite; major growth of the hobby. Much of which can be attributed to the interest in N scale. If model trains are everywhere; so should slot cars be. Something must be wrong on the marketing end to explain the slow; or no growth of the slot car hobby. Tomy released actual HO slot cars 1/87 scale. But failed to market or advertise their product. If Tomy can make cars that small; it should be possible to make slot cars that are even smaller. A new, even smaller scale of slot cars with layouts that take up very little room would certainly have a great appeal to the public. Thus growing the hobby itself. :thumbsup:


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## gonegonzo

I'm sorry it went over your head A/Gas . I thought we were on the same wave link . If you would have been in the hobby in it's hayday (1960's early 70's) my reply would have grabbed your attention as well had you been involved in actual competition . Also , you would have been on the roller coaster ride the slotcar hobby has been on since it's introduction . 

It sounds like you are more of a modeling hobbiest (opposed to being a racer) which is OK but modeling is more train related with these electric toys . The difference in the two are the train modelers go whooo whooo and the car modelers go vroom vroom . LOL , sorry the devil made me say that .

In my area Trains , model airplanes and cars and of course slotcars have taken a real nose dive video gadgets are at their all time high . Slotcars have always been hit and miss and is a very hard business to make a living on commercially . You are correct in the fact that nobody promotes their slotcar products . 

Have you ever seen a 1960's era Christmas catalog ? Slotcars were there but there was O video equipment featured . Also , at that time there was Boy Scouts , Little League , BB Guns and Slotcars . That's it ! Well >>>>>> it was about this era that the transistor radio came about . Now weren't they the coolest things around ? They were the Bee's Knee's !

It's a different world today . Everything has changed . Nostalgic notions are all that is left .

Now , as to your downsizing slotcars . I don't know about you but my 64 year old eyes couldn't take working on them as well as my fingers from years of working construction . I'm lucky to keep my T-Jets going with the help of tweezers . Also , if they did downsize slocars and you could still see them , they would be cost prohibitive . It would cost millions of $ to tool up to produce an even smaller version of a failing product . AND no , they would not have an appeal to the public , no more than any other scale .

Hmmmmm , that's interesting . 1/24th scale , 1/25th scale , 1/32nd scale , 1/43rde scale , HO scale and the new whatever down sized scale you would like to see made .

Think about it seriously and after reality sets in , just enjoy your hobby as it is .

I tried to be more specific in my reply this time .

Respectfully ,
Gonzo


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## slotcarman12078

I don't think he was referring to you as a back stabber A/GS. I believe gonzo was referring to the"ultimate racer" type personalities that can take a fun group of racers and then turn every one of them off to racing with the group.

Someone is a control freak, or throws so much rule making into the mix that it's no longer fun for the group. I've seen too many groups come and go here in my 7 years on this board. Politics (and not even referring to the gov't type), rules, hot headed losers, in your face winners, egos, folks with tight budgets vs. the one or two guys who can afford to go through a case of NOS chassis to cherry pick the cream of the crop... They can all take a great group and ruin it for the bunch. Once the joy is gone, the racing group dissolves. and being that we slotters are so few and far between, the odds of finding another bunch to run with are slim.

We had a hobby store open about 15 miles away from here. Within 8 months, they were closed up, out of business. There's just not enough folks to support the overhead, and while the internet is a blessing for some, it's a killer for the Mom and Pop type HS. With only the older crowd to support it, they couldn't survive. Internet sales are taking away too many sales. 

Kids are digitally addicted now. If my kids aren't on the PS3, they're on the Wii. Once game time is over, they're either glued to their phones, gameboys, or Ipods or computer. They're "connected" so much, that reality doesn't exist unless it's behind a screen in front of their faces.


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## Bubba 123

A/GS said:


> I can't accept the video game excuse for the decline of slot car interest. Hobby shops are packed to the roof with model trains and their accessories. As for a decline in model train interest I have seen quite the opposite; major growth of the hobby. Much of which can be attributed to the interest in N scale. If model trains are everywhere; so should slot cars be. Something must be wrong on the marketing end to explain the slow; or no growth of the slot car hobby. Tomy released actual HO slot cars 1/87 scale. But failed to market or advertise their product. If Tomy can make cars that small; it should be possible to make slot cars that are even smaller. A new, even smaller scale of slot cars with layouts that take up very little room would certainly have a great appeal to the public. Thus growing the hobby itself. :thumbsup:


hi A/GS,:wave:
yes, in Canada, it looks like; hobbies like trains seem 2 be booming.....

(MY Father & His Parents were French-Canadian...
I grew up on the boarder & about 50 miles from Kingston, Ont.)...

my belief, s that "Radio-Control" was the 1st. upset 2 slots in general...
even now, we have coming out "Radio-Controlled" slotless sets...

@ 57 yrs. old & Cardiac-Disabled now...
I have turned back 2 the toy cars of my youth, which I kept....
re-collecting the 1'st 1's that I had..
and collecting various brands & scales of cars that just happen 2 appeal 2 me..

I'm a TV/Movie Vehicle buff, so I've gotten most of what ever was manufactured in that area (& still collecting).....

I've made Diecast & Plastic-Diecast 2 slot cars, and had custom resins made by Bruce Gavins (RIP :-( ) & Greg Gipes of this genre', that were never made as well...... 

it's challenging, especially 2 someone w/ shaking hands... LOL (Me, and I can Pick on Me, If I want-2 ;-) :wave:

but it's FUN, & seeing them go around the track, is a HOOT!!!!

several (well a lot more than "2") on here do the same w/ TV/Movie Customs...

so, slots are hard 2 find in Canadian-Stores as well???
we seem to ONLY have "Hobby-Lobby" & independent hobby-shops here 2...
& I live about 60 miles from Memphis, TN. and they have only several shops there as well :-/

PM me A/GS, if U want someone 2 "Chat" with (can exchange email addy's )

Bubba 123 :wave:


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## slotcarman12078

By the way gonzo, Doba was at a train show right before he left Milwaukee... Some guy had motorized N (1:160) scale cars and made a small routed track to show them off!! They were buzzing around on 3 volts, with pager motor power!! LOL


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## A/GS

Thanks everyone for your input; sometimes it takes other peoples views on a subject to make you see what's really going on. Also, my love of HO slot cars has not doubt clouded my judgement on their possible future growth. I have never been a slot car racer; although I do race slot cars. I have always loved watching them speeding around the track; and of course I love to collect them. Like you Bubba123, I also have heart problems; I've been in and out of hospital 3 times in the last month. The last time due to not being able to breathe; this is when they detected that my heart was pumping blood too slowly. They told me nothing can be done about it; and I'll have to try not to exert myself too much. Of course I never told them I'm practically inert already. I think the diabetes I have contributed to the breathing problems. At my age you have to expect these health problems; especially if you've lived an unhealthy life style like I have. I hope your doing well. Thanks Joe/ slotcarman, I always enjoy reading your comments and views. There is much we agree on. Bless you all. :wave: :thumbsup:


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## alpink

and, the inevitable blessing


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## aurora fan

Because its hard to maintain a slot car track! We are none of us rich people so my 12 x 4 layout is kick ass but I have to make room for the Camaro and the Motorcycle. I figured out how to build a O gauge layout in my garage above door level and everyone loves it. But the track takes up a lot of room and it is difficult to race year round.

I wish I had the room to run slots year round. Display my models and other hobbys. Its just really hard in a 2 car 1600 sq ft home! Most people I know can barley fit one car in their garage much less a slot car track, a train set up and display their models! 

Its a balancing act to be sure. How many of us wish we had room for all our hobbys? Especially the ones like trains and slot cars that need dedicated space?


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## slotking

1> people setup the track and the cars did not work (track needed cleaning)
2> cars worked but fell of the track at the turns, (wonder why).

no one wanted to think, ie.. read how to clean the track, change shoes, oil the car, etc..


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## Ralphthe3rd

My take/input on this thread, is forget the kids even becoming interested, as a whole- it's a lost cause. Just be happy with your Slots and enjoy them, for they shall be history within a decade- as we may all be, as well !
It's ironic, as I think of this HobbyTalk Forum, and have been chastised for this idea in the past here. But Kids AREN'T the ones using this Forum, it's 99.99% Adults ! And I don't want to hear the BS, that my Grandkid comes over and sits on my lap while I'm accessing HT, so you better not write bad words that they can READ- That's BS ! If you leave kids alone, none would ever come to HT of their own free will, as they have better things to do- like Play Video Games ! Sure, their may be a few older teenagers on this Forum that MAY BE interested in RC Cars, but they were probably influenced by their father or other adult from early on. But in general NO Young Kids will ever come to HT of their own free will to find out stuff about Hobbies that they think are Boring.
And that's MY Opinion of the Slot Car Hobby overall, and for HobbyTalks steady decline of active members, ie- No New Blood, and nothing You do is gonna Change that ! so my advice to all you old FARTS(40 and older), just play with your little Toys cars and be happy here and now for what it is, don't think Slot Cars are ever gonna make a Come back with kids, it AIN'T Gonna Happen.
PS- To Paul Shu..., I know how much you have influenced young kids in schools with your programs, but seriously, without Adults taking the time to keep after the kids and this hobby, the kids of their own desire will soon find other things to occupy their time, as even "I" left the hobby 40+ years ago when I became a Teen and moved on to other interests.


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## slotcarman12078

*It's mostly our own fault.... Mostly uncaffinated ramblings...*

Okay, here's my summation and final take on this subject. I still say the majority of the blame goes to video games/electronic gadgets, most of the remainder of the blame rests squarely on our shoulders.

A look around shows that kids are still involved in sports, still go bowling, still ride bikes and watch cartoons. The remainder of their free time is spent plastered to a screen of some sort (with interruptions to engage in the aforementioned activities when they are on their phones). Rather than use their imagination, they would rather use a programmer's to entertain themselves.

BUT, the remainder of the blame is our collective own fault. It's different depending on scale so I'll have to do this in two parts... First the large scale slots...

Large scale racing usually relies on a building dedicated to slot cars to house the rather large tracks. Said buildings rely on customers to pay the bills including the paycheck of the person running the show. Thanks to the internet, most sales are cheaper on line. The business suffers and most go under. Unless the owner already owns the building, is semi retired, and had invested well; the odds of this type of business surviving in the current state of the economy are slim. If you are lucky enough to still have this type of business near you, SUPPORT THEM! Consider yourself lucky, and help keep them afloat! The "Racer X" types also factor in this issue, but we'll get to them last. 

Location also is a factor, as the larger the population, the better the chances are there will be a large group of slotters to participate. Rural shops usually don't stand a chance. Most larger scale guys have now gone underground (basements) like the HO guys. They have had to downsize for the most part, of get creative in track making to maximize the limited amount of space.

HO scale is a nuther thing entirely. It's biggest bang for the buck is the smaller footprint required to have a decent track. I believe by the 70's, AFX was even billing it as "home racing" because of this advantage. The biggest problem with this is it drove most of us underground and for the most part any racing relied on neighborhood kids to make a race. Most of us are "unknowns" to the rest of the neighborhood, and none of us have signs on our front lawn advertising our hobby. Without a public rendezvous point, our hobby depends on word of mouth, BB's like HT, etc to spread.

Who doesn't remember going into any given department store and having a selection of HO train stuff, like engines, cars, buildings, and scenery items proudly displayed. The same went for slot cars. Track, cars, and other necessities were readily available. As demand died, so did their justification for retail space. We counted on hobby stores and Toys r Us, until they either stopped selling or died off. This loss wasn't a drive off a cliff type of thing. It was a slow, steady decline, spanning decades. Now that I think of it, there's one other entity to point the finger of blame at...

Manufacturers are also culpable in this situation. What was a cool, dreamed over, "Give me the Sears Christmas catalog so I can drool on the pages" kinda scenario, the last hurrah for slots was usually crappy Mattel sets that would pop up around October. Two cars that went 1000 MPH, barreling around a tiny figure 8 until one flew off, and the other followed right behind it. No huge layouts, no support with extra track, cars, etc. Way too complex for the kid (and his parent) to maintain, and usually broken by 12/26. 

Shoddy manufacturing also fits in here. The old reliable T Jet, with maybe a few minor tweaks ran as it should. Anything manufactured between 1995 and then in the pancake variety has been much less than reliable for out of the box performance. Plastic gears, wonky arms, bent axles, lousy tires, and a band aid of a neo magnet to fix most of those issues also turned off many. Thankfully, Dash Dan has addressed the T Jet realm with his chassis which cures most of the other's downfalls. Great for us, but probably too late for them (the kids). 

Now, let's add "Racer X" into the equation. Nothing kills a group of racers faster than someone who wants to control everything, is a poor winner or loser, or overloads a group with rules. Instead of an outing being fun, it becomes 10X worse than a bad job to participate in! It certainly ruins any chances of your kids joining in. It either makes the whole scene too stressful, too "adult", or too expensive to let or allow the younger ones to be interested. If the environment isn't a pleasant experience, it usually gets avoided.

Some of us have made great strides to get young ones exposed to the hobby. Pshoe is an awesome example of this, with his "Race to the future" program. He posts up about it yearly, and it is easy enough to search for here on HT. Sadly, we need another 250 or so more like him for the concept to spread. Having school boards open to the whole concept helps a great deal too. 


Our kids and grand kids were our ambassadors to keep the hobby alive. Most already have made their own lives, or have their faces planted firmly in front of a screen. If video games stopped at "Pong" or "Tank Battle", we'd have no problem keeping them interested. Sadly, it didn't stop there.


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## Ralphthe3rd

Joe/SCM, yep, that pretty well sums it up also. 
And yea know another funny thing, we WERE alot like the Video Gamer kids today. Don't forget, we we Basement dwellers for the most part, never coming out for hours at a time to go outside and play in the sunshine, Nope, we chose to go underground for our pleasure. And ya know another sad thing, alot of us old slotters are Fat and with heart troubles now, from lack of physical activity in our early lives. I can Only speak for myself, but I came back to this Hobby(with enthusiasm) about 4 years ago, and ya know what, I've gained 35 lbs in these last 4 years...but, that could just be me, being Lazy in my old(56) age.
PS- will the kids of today be even more obese in the future, because of their past time activities today? I guessing they will be, and be troubled with early onset heart disease then any previous generation had.... *sighs*


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## Serge

*Just a thought*

As a kid, I remember being allowed to stay up and watch the first commercial on *Bonanza* because it was featuring the new line of Chevys. I also remember sneaking into the closed lot at the local Ford dealership to eyeball the new Mustang. Time has just moved on. Let's face it no one is singing "she's real fine my Subaru" or "I'm loading up the Audi with the boards inside". We still live in a car culture, but it's way different. I think that might have something to do with it as well.


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## slotcarman12078

Absolutely Serge. I'll always be in love with mid to late 60's cars. By the 80's, there really wasn't anything being produced by any auto maker that interested me. With the ugly cars, the desire to watch car racing died too. It's only gotten worse since then. I'll give AW a little credit. As undesirable they were to most of us, the ricer cars were a really good attempt to get the younger crowd interested. The graffiti cars weren't even close... I know my kid loves his green Eclipse, and is patiently waiting to finish our lighting project starring one of them (complete with green neon). Sadly, we don't really have a track to run it (and it's sister purple skyline) on. Someday we'll button it up. 

I've been losing weight, mostly due to not eating as much (no candy either) since my stomach is still messed up. I now weigh less than I did before driving big truck, and wearing 16 year old jeans I thought I'd never fit in again!! And I'm still a couch potato...


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## Full Flaps!

I'm not involved in slot cars, and am not at all familiar with the culture, so I speak as an nostalgic outsider. 
But I would surmise that slot racing and model railroading are hobbies from another time.
That's why they are not more popular. Slotting is a community hobby, which means you have to know others who slot.
And kids today just don't idolize train conductors like they might have decades ago, so don't ask for train sets as much.
And there are many things to consume one's time today, R/C cars, helicopters, planes, and all sorts of electronics not being the least of them.
So, what was once rather mainstream, is now niche. It's that way in every generation. 


___________________________

_www.nongmoproject.org_


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## Bill Hall

Two letters!

RC

Originally RC was beyond the budget of most hobbyists. With the advent of micro circuitry, and the eventual trickle down effect of technology through manufacturing; the effect eventually caused other more enticing hobby avenues to balloon and blanket cover planes, automobiles, and boats. We didnt see digital cab control in the smaller scales for slots and trains until waaaaay later. 

R/C is also unique in that it can be indoor outdoor, and reasonably wash and wear.

Looking back early electronic gaming didnt really take anyone away. Those guys were never slot car, model plane or boat guys in the first place.


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## tjd241

*but Grampa...*

... does anything in that dusty old box look like this??? 






... it literally does not need to be thrashed much further. It's 2014 and counting. At about the 30 second mark you literally see the guide pin break off from underneath the car... lol.


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## A/GS

tjd241 said:


> ... does anything in that dusty old box look like this???
> 
> Official Forza Horizon 2 - Live Action TV Commercial: Leave Your Limits [Full Length] - YouTube
> 
> ... it literally does not need to be thrashed much further. It's 2014 and counting. At about the 30 second mark you literally see the guide pin break off from underneath the car... lol.


Sorry, but your talking about two completely different experiences. One you sit in front of a TV; the other you race miniature cars around a model race track. I prefer the slots; and yes I play video games as well. As I recall video games nearly died out in the 80's; the entire business was a disaster. So don't count slots out so soon. I think the vdeo games business is about due for another bust. It's pricing itself beyond the affordability of most consumers. Remember who told you that when it finally happens. I'd say the next few years will tell the tale. Meanwhile I must get back to my slots....the old geezer A/GS.


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## super8man

It's always interesting asking a question like this in a very (VERY) niche group like slot car hobbyists. First, we are a biased sample. I see much blame being placed on hobbies and activities (and fads) that came along later. Let's not forget "electric" model motoring came along as a replacement to something before it. The people that bemoaned the dreaded "sit at home and play INSIDE with an electric toy" were mad that in THEIR day kids played outside, camped, play acted on mock stages, and anything else that was in vogue back then. 

It's rather arbitrary to say the hobby of slot cars must endure since we played it as kids. Sure, if I had my way, I would be outside right now playing kick the can or hide and seek in the dark crawling around my neighbors' backyards (watch that Twilight Zone episode, it's great) . Sadly, this would get me shot in today's world. Back when I was young, we ruled the back lane at night. Life was excellent.

Fast forward to today and my own kids are not unhappy. If you really listen to them, they talk fondly with their friends of things they played with "when they were young" - Playstation (1), NES, WWE action figures, Star Wars Lego, etc. It's no different. What has changed is our own aging perspective that our own kids (or kids these days) should be doing what we did in the past. Personally, I want my kids to find their own fun and exploration. If they go on to develop apps for ipods and make a living (or not), so be it. The future is their's to make, not for me to force them to relive some outmoded past times. 

Just a few thoughts on how to enjoy what you do and worry less about what other people do, including the kids. They will figure it out, just like we did. And it will be different. My Dad never played with slot cars.


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## dlw

Not sure if this was mentioned earlier in the thread, but I think what would make slots more fun to kids would be access to an existing layout, either in a shop, or a friends house. The 'labor' of setting up and tearing down track wears thin on a kid.


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## Bubba 123

A/GS said:


> Sorry, but your talking about two completely different experiences. One you sit in front of a TV; the other you race miniature cars around a model race track. I prefer the slots; and yes I play video games as well. As I recall video games nearly died out in the 80's; the entire business was a disaster. So don't count slots out so soon. I think the vdeo games business is about due for another bust. It's pricing itself beyond the affordability of most consumers. Remember who told you that when it finally happens. I'd say the next few years will tell the tale. Meanwhile I must get back to my slots....the old geezer A/GS.


the $$ can be said for just a basic train OR slotcar start-up set 2day...
hundreds of $$, can be spent on 1 single "Engine" or slot car alone....
granted, these are the 1's 4 the "Serious" hobbiests.....

hobbies change like the ocean-tides....
just wait, it will come back around again.....
most likely MORE "High-Tech" (2day's Trains) & now, semi-radio controlled slotless car sets, (that keep you ON the course in the right direction..)

direction-orientation, was my downfall in R/C :-/

Bubba 123 :wave:


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## Ralphthe3rd

*Good Post !*

I like THIS Post/Reply above all others posted so far.... it's really hitting the nail on the head, even if we don't want to hear it.


super8man said:


> It's always interesting asking a question like this in a very (VERY) niche group like slot car hobbyists. First, we are a biased sample. I see much blame being placed on hobbies and activities (and fads) that came along later. Let's not forget "electric" model motoring came along as a replacement to something before it. The people that bemoaned the dreaded "sit at home and play INSIDE with an electric toy" were mad that in THEIR day kids played outside, camped, play acted on mock stages, and anything else that was in vogue back then.
> 
> It's rather arbitrary to say the hobby of slot cars must endure since we played it as kids. Sure, if I had my way, I would be outside right now playing kick the can or hide and seek in the dark crawling around my neighbors' backyards (watch that Twilight Zone episode, it's great) . Sadly, this would get me shot in today's world. Back when I was young, we ruled the back lane at night. Life was excellent.
> 
> Fast forward to today and my own kids are not unhappy. If you really listen to them, they talk fondly with their friends of things they played with "when they were young" - Playstation (1), NES, WWE action figures, Star Wars Lego, etc. It's no different. What has changed is our own aging perspective that our own kids (or kids these days) should be doing what we did in the past. Personally, I want my kids to find their own fun and exploration. If they go on to develop apps for ipods and make a living (or not), so be it. The future is their's to make, not for me to force them to relive some outmoded past times.
> 
> Just a few thoughts on how to enjoy what you do and worry less about what other people do, including the kids. They will figure it out, just like we did. And it will be different. My Dad never played with slot cars.


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## slotcardan

........


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## A/GS

Bubba 123 said:


> the $$ can be said for just a basic train OR slotcar start-up set 2day...
> hundreds of $$, can be spent on 1 single "Engine" or slot car alone....
> granted, these are the 1's 4 the "Serious" hobbiests.....
> 
> hobbies change like the ocean-tides....
> just wait, it will come back around again.....
> most likely MORE "High-Tech" (2day's Trains) & now, semi-radio controlled slotless car sets, (that keep you ON the course in the right direction..)
> 
> direction-orientation, was my downfall in R/C :-/
> 
> Bubba 123 :wave:


You're absolutely right Bubba 123; these things are cyclical. Slots will return bigger than ever; thanks to new blood and technical advances. Everything that was old will be new again. Drive-In Movies will return with high tech screens that do away with the problems the old screens were known for. Just as video Games will become obsolete due to lack of interest. The reality is nothing lasts forever; even Stars have a life cycle; they're born and they die. :wave:


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## Ralphthe3rd

*I see some Dinosaurs are trying to fight Extinction*

Yep, fads Die out(and so do the people who enjoyed them), and that's just a part of life. New replaces old, and new Tech doesn't really make old Fads comeback. We are Dinosaurs, and ya know what happened to THEM ! >they couldn't adapt, and died out...just like we will, and Slot Cars. 
LOL> Drive-Ins Return with High Tech Screens ? Dream on.... we already have LARGE High Tech Screens in the comfort of our own homes, why would modern- lazy/spoiled people, want to drive their car somewhere on a Hot Summer nite, and either sit in it with the engine off and AC off, or sit in it with the Motor Running with the AC on and waste $10 of Gas for 2+ Hours ! 



A/GS said:


> You're absolutely right Bubba 123; these things are cyclical. Slots will return bigger than ever; thanks to new blood and technical advances. Everything that was old will be new again. Drive-In Movies will return with high tech screens that do away with the problems the old screens were known for. Just as video Games will become obsolete due to lack of interest. The reality is nothing lasts forever; even Stars have a life cycle; they're born and they die. :wave:


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## kriket

Ralphthe3rd said:


> Yep, fads Die out(and so do the people who enjoyed them), and that's just a part of life. New replaces old, and new Tech doesn't really make old Fads comeback. We are Dinosaurs, and ya know what happened to THEM ! >they couldn't adapt, and died out...just like we will, and Slot Cars.
> LOL> Drive-Ins Return with High Tech Screens ? Dream on.... we already have LARGE High Tech Screens in the comfort of our own homes, why would modern- lazy/spoiled people, want to drive their car somewhere on a Hot Summer nite, and either sit in it with the engine off and AC off, or sit in it with the Motor Running with the AC on and waste $10 of Gas for 2+ Hours !


 out door drive in theaters are not entirely dead yet, just rare. There is a drive in theater in my town and i go to it sometimes...but then again im an old dinasaur trying to hold on the the past just like slot cars...lol :thumbsup:


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## A/GS

Ralphthe3rd said:


> Yep, fads Die out(and so do the people who enjoyed them), and that's just a part of life. New replaces old, and new Tech doesn't really make old Fads comeback. We are Dinosaurs, and ya know what happened to THEM ! >they couldn't adapt, and died out...just like we will, and Slot Cars.
> LOL> Drive-Ins Return with High Tech Screens ? Dream on.... we already have LARGE High Tech Screens in the comfort of our own homes, why would modern- lazy/spoiled people, want to drive their car somewhere on a Hot Summer nite, and either sit in it with the engine off and AC off, or sit in it with the Motor Running with the AC on and waste $10 of Gas for 2+ Hours !


Ralphthe3rd, usually things are never what they seem; case in point, the extinction of the Dinosaurs. Fact is Admiral Byrd in 1947 discovered that an entrance in the North Pole led to an inner world where Dinosaurs still exist today. The interior of the Earth is in fact hollow; with entrances in the North and South poles. Within this hollow Earth there is a small sun at the center that sustains both Humanoid and other life, including Dinosaurs. As to Drive-In Movies; they were a lot of fun to go to with a date, or the family to enjoy a night of dusk till dawn movies. Staying at home and watching TV can hardly compare to that. If it could, Movie Theatres would no longer exist. A night out is a good thing every now and then. Ye Old Dinosaur, A/GS. :wave:


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## tasman

In 1963 when I was 7 years old I learned from my older brother how to take apart and put back together a T-Jet. I needed to know this because many cars I had did not run well out of the box. Had it not been for my brother (9 years older) and my curiosity I would have gotten tired of poor running cars and would have moved on to some other hobby.

Here we are 50 years later and this board if full of tips and tricks needed to get today's toy slot cars (AW, Tomy/AFX, Life Like, Tyco/Mattel) to run and run consistantly. I don't know who I am quoting but it is someone on one of the boards that stated "every slot car needs to have the pickup shoes adjusted". Why haven't the manufacturer's improved their products? Why do we all have to tweak new cars to get them to sometimes run at all or run consistantly? Does the kid that gets a new train set for xmas have to know how to disasemble the engine to get it to work?

There are so many more options for kids today to occupy their time it is a wonder any kid who gets a new slot car set plays with it for more than a few days. Especially when they have to fix or repair the cars or track after a few uses. It is hard to maintain any hobby when the first experience with the hobby is such a hassle.

It's negative population growth. When more HO hobbyists die than new ones start the hobby becomes unpopular. More have been leaving the hobby than entering it for many years. Given the current potential market I am amazed that anyone is making cars or track at all.


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## carlosnseattle

Fragmentation...it has been and has been because of fragmentation.

But I'll bet there were more real dollars spent on slot cars in the USA in 2013 than in 1967. I'd go so far as to say there was more money spent even if adjusted for inflation spent in 2013 than in 1967. The market share has decreased but real dollars are still being spent even to this day on slot cars. In 2012 Stadlbauer Marketing + Vertrieb GmbH reported that they sold over 1 million sets containing 2+ cars and an additional 3 million individual cars that year. That's one company, Carrera. They produced and sold that many; I'll bet no one company did that in the 60's or 70's. And given the cost of sets and cars I'd say slot cars are doing well.

Problem is we are actually talking about two distinct thing: 1-The home set market. 2- the competition club racing market. And talking about two different markets, the USA, and the rest of the world who experienced the craze during the 60's and 70's

The home set market has evolved, or devolved, based on how you look at it. Like a lot of you guys have already said, slot cars have always been trouble. I know from working at TRU during college that they had one of the highest return rates of any toy, and that was when they carried the sets back in the late 80's. I know as a consumer it never changed. A lot of my collection was built on going to TRY & Kiddie City, and Target on the days and weeks after Christmas to pick up a returned set for pennies on the dollar. So for the home set market, as dads have decreased so has demand for the sets.

As for the racing scene, not much to complain about there. It has just changed a lot over the years. At one time there were 5000+ racing centers in the US, I am happy to say that I drove in a couple in Cleveland and St. Louis as a kid. Video games came around looong after they closed down, so that has nothing to do with the racing scene whatsoever. They diminished during the 70's, and video games didn't take a foothold until the mid to late 80's. ACME Bowling took over many of the slot car centers and turned them into bowling alleys. In addition to that racing became more serious, too serious for the average guy to enjoy. Some people wanted to go to a place, smoke a cigarette, have a drink, talk to some buddies and drive a few laps for fun. But the hardcore guys pushed upgrades to wheels tires, motors, gears, etc. So a chasm developed where the average guy felt like an idiot going to a racing center because he didn't have the knowledge, or even the desire, to know all the details the racer knew about. Those two factors acted in concert to kill off the racing centers.

So video games weren't the "Chicxulub asteroid" that killed slot cars, even though you could argue that video games gave kids an alternative to slot cars for the home set market during the 80's. I was one of only a couple kids on my street that had a slot car set, while there were probably 7 who had video game systems. But I don't know of many fathers who sat there and played video games with their kids back then. While I can say that most dads did play with their kids with their slot car sets.

Now you add in the prevalence of sports in american society and its no wonder slot cars are dead. As much as I love slot cars I'd much rather play some basketball than play slot cars with my kids. There were no soccer moms in the 60's-80's. I think that term was coined in the late 90's. Kids who played sports played sports, but there was no year round baseball, no AAU for basketball, camps for football or anything. I played college basketball I never once went to a summer basketball camp. Add video games to that, and retailers who don't want to stock a product with a high return rate and this is what you get. A very healthy underground market.

let's just agree to stay alive for as long as we can to keep this awesome hobby going:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## tasman

carlosnseattle said:


> Fragmentation...it has been and has been because of fragmentation.
> 
> But I'll be there were more real dollars spent on slot cars in the USA in 2013 than in 1967. I'd go so far as to say there was more money spent even if adjusted for inflation spent in 2013 than in 1967. The market share has decreased but real dollars are still being spent even to this day on slot cars. In 2012 Stadlbauer Marketing + Vertrieb GmbH reported that they sold over 1 million sets containing 2+ cars and an additional 3 million individual cars that year. That's one company, Carrera. They produced and sold that many; I'll bet no one company did that in the 60's or 70's. And given the cost of sets and cars I'd say slot cars are doing well.


I'm not sure where you were in 1967 but I was in the 7th grade and about 25% of the boys in my class had some kind of slot cars (mostly HO). Now I doubt there is more than 25 people in the 1/2 million metro area where I live that have slot cars. According to Greg Braun's website 25,000,000 Aurora Slot cars were sold by 1965. 

There must be a whole lot more people in the great northwest with slot cars than there is within 60 miles of the "Motor City".


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## A/GS

There are a number of factors at work in the HO slot car market that are holding back growth of the hobby. To begin you have absolutely atrocious advertising and marketing of the product; to the point of invisibility in fact. Only 2 companies produce the HO slots anymore. Tomy that provides excellent quality cars and sets; just not enough new releases. AW on the other hand churns out not so impressive product at the pace of a bread factory. In this environment is it any wonder the HO slot market is stagnant. New blood in the form of a new producer of HO slots is needed. There is plenty of money to be made for the " RIGHT " company that can produce and market a good quality product that consumers actually want.


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## TK Solver

A/GS said:


> There is plenty of money to be made for the " RIGHT " company that can produce and market a good quality product that consumers actually want.


With all the money to be made, why do you think Mattel left the business? Why did Walthers (LifeLike) leave the business?

Does anyone think that the government has made it too difficult? Or should we blame the lawyers who encourage lawsuits when kids abuse their toys?


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## slotcarman12078

Hey, I wanna do just that A/GS.... Sadly, I don't think the Lottery Gods want me to do it. Maybe they're just making me wait... I have a ton of plans, ideas, concepts to throw into the mix. I might let a little something slip out here and there, but most are permanently etched in my brain, just waiting for the bank roll to finance it.

DC hasn't made it any easier... Weren't slot cars illegal in Cali (I recall an ebay seller refusing to ship there)???? Mattel and Lifelike let them die because they didn't want to invest in them. With Lifelike, Walthers tried with the new tooled Mustang/Camaro set, and the set with the RR Xing. I guess they didn't make enough to see slots as a viable profit maker. Last I saw, what was left was in clearance.

Just checked... http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?quick=slot+car&x=13&y=6 Pretty sad.


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## carlosnseattle

As far as Mattel and Walthers; its hard for any company to come into a new industry, or portion of an industry that is already mature and have success. What if Lifelike had the foresight to do what AW is doing? What if they had bought the johnny lightning license and also began to reproduce Aurora shells. They probably would still be making slot cars, but nobody at the time saw that as a viable strategy.

And Mattel had so many hits and misses it's just sad they were the ones who bought Tyco.


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## A/GS

TK Solver said:


> With all the money to be made, why do you think Mattel left the business? Why did Walthers (LifeLike) leave the business?
> 
> Does anyone think that the government has made it too difficult? Or should we blame the lawyers who encourage lawsuits when kids abuse their toys?


The companies you mention were inept; they didn't understand the product or how to market it. So sayeth A/GS.


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## carlosnseattle

tasman said:


> I'm not sure where you were in 1967 but I was in the 7th grade and about 25% of the boys in my class had some kind of slot cars (mostly HO). Now I doubt there is more than 25 people in the 1/2 million metro area where I live that have slot cars. According to Greg Braun's website 25,000,000 Aurora Slot cars were sold by 1965.
> 
> There must be a whole lot more people in the great northwest with slot cars than there is within 60 miles of the "Motor City".



Good point. But let's say that Aurora had sold 25 million slot car by 1965, but not during the calender year of 1965, then that number is spread over 8 years. That means it was closer to 3-4 million cars per year. And Tyco hadn't began to make slot cars at that point yet, but I don't remember the exact date they began, sorry. You remember 1/4 of the kids in your neighborhood having slot cars; I totally believe you, just wish I were your age and had been one of your neighbors

Here's an excerpt from GB's website:
"...
The Lean Years
The early 1970's brought about a drastic decline in interest for slot cars. Many of the original slot car racers that had made Aurora so successful throughout the 1960's were now getting older. As they graduated from High School and went off to college their HO slot car sets were moved to the attic, or sold at garage sales.

Aurora's annual sales in 1970 were at an all-time high of $20 million dollars. In the years that followed annual sales began to drop dramatically. Each year saw an ever larger decline in revenue...."

So in 1967 what was the price of a slot car? My guess is a new car cost around $2.50. Am I close? If so, $2.50 in 1967 dollars roughly equates to $17 now. Keeping that economy in mind means that producing slot cars doesn't make good sense now. Let's say you were a CEO; would you manufacture something that cost your company $6 to produce that you could sell for $17.00, or even $30.00? Or would you produce something that cost around $20 in raw materials, and another $15 in labor but you could sell for $300+? And what if that same product had a much lower return rate? 

As far as I see it, that's why slot cars are dead. You guys all know a "real" experience is better than a "virtual" experience. Problem is that the virtual one works very easily, allows for more flexibility, and you don't need Dad to make it operate properly. Best part is that there are add-ons, like new games, after the initial product is produced. Can you say "CAH-CHING!!!"

Even if it turns our kids into mindless dweebs its' OK


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## alpink

"The companies you mention were inept; they didn't understand the product or how to market it. So sayeth A/GS"
and thou shalt not disagreeth


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## cody6268

My Dad was 14 when he got his Tyco set. I'm 17, he gave me his old set a few months ago. I've expanded myself with extra track and cars from Ebay. I prefer AFX G-Plus cars (got my first from Ebay for 12 bucks). The closest place that sells slot cars around here is the Hobby Lobby about 20 min away in the mall. The selection is slim, as that's a small Hobby Lobby. There's only about half a dozen cars there at any given time, and all they've got is Auto World. The nearest AFX dealer is two hours away in Bristol, VA. The nearest racing group is in Winston Salem, NC, two hours away (again). Nearly everything in my collection has been bought online. 

My Dad got his set thirty years ago from Sears and Roebuck, which is in the same mall as the Hobby Lobby. 

Most of the hobbyists in my area are train enthusiasts. About the only thing I have to do with that hobby is that I do collect HO scale vehicles as a part of my diecast collection. 

Many of the stores in my area stock the crap cheaply made 1/43 sets that only last about a month. If anyone asks me anymore, I'm telling them to spend a little more and buy an Auto World set.


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## A/GS

alpink said:


> "The companies you mention were inept; they didn't understand the product or how to market it. So sayeth A/GS"
> and thou shalt not disagreeth


Of course Al, ....everyone has the right to disagree with me. But it would be wrong of them to do so; as I'm nearly always right about everything I perceive to be a fact through careful analysis; and pure logic.


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## blue55conv

cody6268 said:


> My Dad was 14 when he got his Tyco set. I'm 17...


Why aren't you playing video games?


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## alpink

cody6268,
as long as you can shop Hobby Lobby, go to their website and sign up for emails.
you will get at least one coupon every month worth 40% off.
well worth the effort. I don't have one near me, but I still get the emails.
LOL


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## Bubba 123

alpink said:


> cody6268,
> as long as you can shop Hobby Lobby, go to their website and sign up for emails.
> you will get at least one coupon every month worth 40% off.
> well worth the effort. I don't have one near me, but I still get the emails.
> LOL


We get "Email-Coupons" for 40% off every week here...
& U can print out as many as U want....
but still 1-coupon per purchase, so get friends/family to go w/ U :thumbsup:

(Evil) Bubba 123 :wave:


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## Bubba 123

kriket said:


> out door drive in theaters are not entirely dead yet, just rare. There is a drive in theater in my town and i go to it sometimes...but then again im an old dinasaur trying to hold on the the past just like slot cars...lol :thumbsup:


we have 1 here in East-Side of Memphis, TN...
our climate makes it possible 2 be open about year-round.....
we had 3 in Jackson, TN. (home-plate) 1 is left still standing, & it's not being used 4 a Drive-In anymore.. BUT, "Restorable"...

Bubba 123 :wave:


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## cody6268

blue55conv said:


> Why aren't you playing video games?


I have little interest in them. I occasionally do, but they don't seem to hold my interest. Secondly, a video game for a console and a slot car both cost about the same. A piece of track or a set of tires and a smartphone/tablet application both cost around the same. A huge layout can be built for the cost of a game console, smartphone, or tablet. It's a lot more enjoyable when the factors for lap times and performance are caused by actual factors instead of just some computer algorithm. It's also way simpler. My slot car controller has one one button, the trigger. The average game console controller, several.


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## cody6268

slotking said:


> 1> people setup the track and the cars did not work (track needed cleaning)
> 2> cars worked but fell of the track at the turns, (wonder why).
> 
> no one wanted to think, ie.. read how to clean the track, change shoes, oil the car, etc..


I figured that out all on my own. I wonder why people wouldn't want to do the maintenence. I mean, it takes me about a minute to take the body off, oil all the gears, then put everything back together. I usually clean the track and tires before I run the car. My Dad stored his set in a leaky garage, so when I set the track up, I spent an afternoon of cleaning and sanding track. Given, troubleshooting a slot car set is pretty straightforward. If it isn't the car, it's the track. If there isn't a light on my AFX pit tool when I stick it to the track, or my voltmeter isn't showing voltage, I check the Power Pack. If there's no voltage on the Power Pack, check the circuit breaker and extension cord's voltage (I have to use them, as there aren't many outlets in the basement, and all are on the ceiling.) . Last time I had to do that, turns out the Power Pack was bad. I got lucky and found a NOS one on Ebay, still in the original 1975 box. It also had four more volts that the original 1980s adapter.


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## Jisp

cody6268 said:


> I figured that out all on my own. I wonder why people wouldn't want to do the maintenence.....


Cody, at a mere 17 you talk more sense than quite a few guys I know who are 2 or 3 times your age. I take my hat off to you my friend and hope you continue to enjoy and build on your slots and slot knowledge.

Cheers,
Michael. :thumbsup:


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## MSwaterlogged

alpink said:


> cody6268,
> as long as you can shop Hobby Lobby, go to their website and sign up for emails.
> you will get at least one coupon every month worth 40% off.
> well worth the effort. I don't have one near me, but I still get the emails.
> LOL


All you have to do is use your phone, go to the HL website and display the 40% coupon that is always there. Read the number to the clerk checking you out and you get the discount. No paper needed! Assuming you have a smartphone .

Charlie


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## alpink

my phone is smarter than I


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## slotking

> I wonder why people wouldn't want to do the maintenence


we became a throw away society! throw it away and buy a new whatever!

I could be wrong, but I will guess that most of the young ones who get involved like thinkering and may lean torwards the A.D.D side.

just to note, I have expained to my KIDs that being ADD is a good thing!
it is just that the FARMERs(ie.. teachers) only know how to teach other farmers and not the hunters/solders/inventors/mechanics/businesmen


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## MSwaterlogged

alpink said:


> my phone is smarter than I


Fully agree with that statement. I probably only use 5% of what it can do. I have managed to figure out a few things (thanks to 2 sons in law that are computer professionals)!

Charlie


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## vaBcHRog

Our Hobby shops HO slots are in a decline but 1/32nd is strong.


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## slotking

1/32 in the us has grown for 2 reasons I think.

1>how good the cars look
2>older racers needed to see parts and handle those parts


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## carlosnseattle

At this point in time 1/32 manufacturers are making a superior product to what they made in the past, and superior in detail to what HO can offer, primarily due to size.

But I would also assert that retailers, marketing, and promotions drive sales. 

TRU and Target, and even Walwart don't believe that people will purchase slot cars, so they have only offered the "toy-grade" sets. The ones like you guys said break after a month and have no replacement parts available. So there's nothing that is hobby quality available in the stores right now. They stopped carrying Tomy stuff over 10 years ago. And haven't touched 1/32 stuff on the shelves in 15+ years. And whether we like it or not; retail still drives what ultimately ends up in the homes of consumers. We have our hobby shops and specialty places, but their sales volume is minuscule compared to the big box stores. And if the majority of people are shopping in the big box stores they never even come across slot cars. 

Marketing and promotions: This is a "sore" subject. Sore because nobody is going to like this. Our biggest problem is NASCAR. It's a problem for a couple reasons. First, it is the by far the most dominant form of motorsport in the US, and it is regional. So as a national buyer for a large retailer it's hard to justify supporting something that has such strong regional ties, but has ties with the rest of the country that are tenuous at best. 2nd problem is licensing fees. They have gone through the roof in the last 15 years. No toy company can afford them anymore. Even the diecast manufacturers can't afford NASCAR licenses anymore. I believe this is why Walthers isn't making slot cars anymore. They tried what they thought would work, a NASCAR license agreement. And I'll bet the didn't see much of a bump in sales. I could be wrong about this but the argument is plausible.

If we had another racing series that Americans were interested then the toy companies could tell NASCAR where to put their licensing fees. But we don't, and without some type of tie in to some form of real racing it's really hard for a large retailer to get behind toy racing cars.


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## Bubba 123

vaBcHRog said:


> Our Hobby shops HO slots are in a decline but 1/32nd is strong.


Ditto in Memphis, TN. also..

Bubba 123 :wave:


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## dlw

I brought this up in the Indy (SIII), and Stockcar Legends race set threads.

Over 95% of the slotcar sets sold over the years (all manufacturers) are two-lane sets. What percentage of families have only 1 or 2 kids? Mom, or most likely dad could play with the only child, but the point is companies need to push 4-lane race sets. Just two cars racing would get boring quick.

Plus, the 'bleeding hearts' out there may get behind this for the family bonding thing..........

Mass-marketed four-laners could give the hobby a kick in the pants. Heck, I don't remember seeing a commercial for one.

And One little add-on, Include in the set instructions on how to build a table for a layout with track designs and schematics


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## carlosnseattle

dlw said:


> I brought this up in the Indy (SIII), and Stockcar Legends race set threads.
> 
> Over 95% of the slotcar sets sold over the years (all manufacturers) are two-lane sets. What percentage of families have only 1 or 2 kids? Mom, or most likely dad could play with the only child, but the point is companies need to push 4-lane race sets. Just two cars racing would get boring quick.
> 
> Plus, the 'bleeding hearts' out there may get behind this for the family bonding thing..........
> 
> Mass-marketed four-laners could give the hobby a kick in the pants. Heck, I don't remember seeing a commercial for one.
> 
> And One little add-on, Include in the set instructions on how to build a table for a layout with track designs and schematics


Great ideas. And with a large set why couldn't they include some type of pop- up/easy fold table top height mechanism that would make it really easy for people to use the set. I always thought it was weird that they always gave you a big warning about setting the track up on carpet. In the 70's and 80's homes were built with wall to wall carpeting. So there was carpet everywhere except for the kitchen floor. Even a plastic roll-up mat of some sort would have helped.

To your point about multiple users; digital racing allows for up to 8 people in 1/32, that's one of the reasons digital sets are gaining market share over analog in 1/32. Some sets come with three cars, but most of the time they have 2 and people buy a third car.


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## A/GS

I think NASCAR isn't the only Motor Sport Americans are interested in. What about NHRA Drag Racing ? It's certainly not regional; and I believe it's more popular than NASCAR. :thumbsup:


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## carlosnseattle

You're right, but I like a circuit with curves, laps, lap counting, challenging technical elements. NHRA is awesome, even better to watch live at the track, but not so much fun on a slot car track...in my opinion


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## A/GS

carlosnseattle said:


> You're right, but I like a circuit with curves, laps, lap counting, challenging technical elements. NHRA is awesome, even better to watch live at the track, but no so much fun on a slot car track...in my opinion


I can certainly understand your point of view. As for road courses I like F1, Rally, Dakar and Baja races as well. :wave: :thumbsup:


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## NTxSlotCars

I want to add another aspect that I think hits at the heart of slot cars.
As a nation, we have lost the young car enthusiast.
Think about it, the 40s cars were way different than the 50s cars. 
The 50s cars were way different from the 60s cars. 
The 60s cars were way different from the 70s cars. 
The 70s cars were way different than the 80s cars. 
What we had known for 50 years as an American car was pretty much killed off in the late 80s.
Each generation was able to compare modern to older, to classics on different features.
Cars have been practically the same front wheel drive 4/6 banger with minor styling changes and bells and whistles since the early 90s.
Compare a 93 Camry/Accord/Taurus/Lumina with a 2014 version.
Cars today are just...cars. What else is there, minivans?
Oh sure, there are the Mustangs, Camaros and Challengers, but the good ones are well out of a kids price range, and.... you cant work on them.
25 years ago, you could find a $500 car and hop it up into a respectable hot rod/muscle car.
You just cant do that anymore, not commonly.

Other than that, slot cars are way too expensive to compete with free apps.
The licensing and collectors have driven pricing out of range for would be ho racers.


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## super8man

Actually, we've commoditized transportation. And we've made them more reliable and easily replaceable. We now expect cars to run up to about 100,000 miles before the only tune up a car gets - it's timing belt - and most choose to sell it instead. Kids now "tune" cars with laptops. We "chip" them. And let's face it, nobody really wants to work on cars anymore. We only worked on them out of necessity since they were poorly made compared to today's standards. You might say we have realized our sci-fi dreams of the 50s - generic cars that provide reliable transportation...and in doing so, we lost some of the fun. And slot cars have suffered along the way. But trains are still the same and rail fans still get to see their box cars, tankers, etc. running around the country. But us slot heads only see jelly beans on the road...sigh. I guess that's why I bought a 6-speed Hemi Challenger. Trying to be a bit different!


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## carlosnseattle

NTxSlotCars said:


> I want to add another aspect that I think hits at the heart of slot cars.
> As a nation, we have lost the young car enthusiast.
> Think about it, the 40s cars were way different than the 50s cars.
> The 50s cars were way different from the 60s cars.
> The 60s cars were way different from the 70s cars.
> The 70s cars were way different than the 80s cars.
> What we had known for 50 years as an American car was pretty much killed off in the late 80s.
> Each generation was able to compare modern to older, to classics on different features.
> Cars have been practically the same front wheel drive 4/6 banger with minor styling changes and bells and whistles since the early 90s.
> Compare a 93 Camry/Accord/Taurus/Lumina with a 2014 version.
> Cars today are just...cars. What else is there, minivans?
> Oh sure, there are the Mustangs, Camaros and Challengers, but the good ones are well out of a kids price range, and.... you cant work on them.
> 25 years ago, you could find a $500 car and hop it up into a respectable hot rod/muscle car.
> You just cant do that anymore, not commonly.
> 
> Other than that, slot cars are way too expensive to compete with free apps.
> The licensing and collectors have driven pricing out of range for would be ho racers.


To your point...Insurance rates have taken all the fun out of driving. You can use a car for transportation, but anything that looks like fun costs waaay too much. Nobody had insurance on the old beater they bought for $500. I bought my first car in 1987 for $750.00 and drove it for almost two years. Never had insurance on it. But a 16yo with any car is going to be paying $100/month just for insurance. There goes any disposable income, and like you said...bye bye car culture:wave:


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## alpink

some hippie guy in the far distant past said something like 
"the times .....
they are ...
achangin"


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## NTxSlotCars

So, yes, we have lost the young car enthusiast...


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## Boosted-Z71

carlosnseattle said:


> You're right, but I like a circuit with curves, laps, lap counting, challenging technical elements. NHRA is awesome, even better to watch live at the track, but not so much fun on a slot car track...in my opinion


I totally agreed with your opinion until last year I built a sole purpose drag car for the contest here on HT. 1st, I love to build cars, especially something other than stock, 2nd I was more excited to get the results of its run than participating in any race I have ever been in. 

I just want to encourage anyone who has not tried the drag racing side of slots to give it a try, while I really like the fast curvy layouts, there was nothing like tweaking on that drag car and sending it off to race. 

Boosted


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## Bubba 123

A/GS said:


> I can certainly understand your point of view. As for road courses I like F1, Rally, Dakar and Baja races as well. :wave: :thumbsup:


DITTO !!! :thumbsup:

Bubba 123 :wave:


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## carlosnseattle

I wish there was a "slot Car Masters" series or something like that. It would be a series where you had to race all types of slot cars in all scales.

For HO:
Race 1. Stock T-jets or G-jets, 
Race 2. Some modern unmodified or slightly modified car like Lifelike or SG+
Race 3. Super Stocks or SRT's
Race 4. Something wild like either a drag race or a slotless race to really mess with people.

For 1/32
Race 5. Sectional Track with a stock Carrera or Scalextric car
Race 6. Routed track with Stock NSR or Slot.it type car
Race 7. Routed track with Modified cars, gears, axles, tires, etc.
Race 8. Digital race on Scalextric, Carrera or even Oxigen

For 1/24
Race 9. Stock or slightly modified BRM/Scaleauto/Carrera based on preference
Race 10. Digital 1/24 race using Carrera cars or converted cars running with stock equipment
Race 11. Wing cars, the ultimate in speed and handling
Race 12. 1/24 drag race with the glue and all the go fast stuff.

Wouldn't that be cool, a 12 race series where people would be challenged to master different types of cars and sizes. To be "The Master" you'd have to be able to compete with the stuff you know and love, and the stuff you don't know well or particularly like. Kind of like an Olympic decathlon for slot cars.

I know it won't ever happen, but if there was a way to do it I'd sign up in a heartbeat


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## alpink

carlosNseattle. will you loan me two million dollars to set up my stable?
or just sponsor me and pay all my expenses!


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## NTxSlotCars

Although not in all scales, we run something similar.
We run several different classes amd chassis all in one night.
Each class has a winner, points are added at the end of the night for the champion.








Great fun and lots of great memories.


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## carlosnseattle

NTxSlotCars said:


> Although not in all scales, we run something similar.
> We run several different classes amd chassis all in one night.
> Each class has a winner, points are added at the end of the night for the champion.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Great fun and lots of great memories.



Really would be "the most interesting race in the world"


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## Elcaminobill

My grand kids thoroughly enjoy racing slot cars. The six oldest ones, ages 6 to 9, both boys and girls like to race.

We don't have a permanent track so they'll often ask me to set it up. A few of them will help with that too. Although I have a bunch of HO stuff, I set up a 4 lane 1/43 track for them. It seems a little easier for them to handle, than HO.

Sometimes I have to be patient with them, since they seem to enjoy crashing as much as racing. Of course they always want the loop the loops, criss crosses etc.

Like most of today's youth, they're very into video games but they'll race the slot cars for hours. We also break out the good old Hot Wheels gravity powered track.

Papa don't have no video games at his house.


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## Jisp

Elcaminobill said:


> ... Papa don't have no video games at his house.


Papa aint no fool! Hats off to you for sharing your time and patience with the grandkids Bill.

Regarding the matter of kids enjoying crashing as much as racing.... yup, kids will be kids but kind patience will usually win them over. Have you considered or tried "crash n burn" racing? The format is simple. If you crash you are out of the race, no replacing cars on the track. Most kids will usually respond to the idea. Additional incentive can be found in some form of score board, perhaps a common white board using non-permanent markers. Every kid likes to see their name with wins/laps/etc on a board and so will usually avoid crashes.

Enjoy your racing.

Cheers,
Michael. :thumbsup:


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## A/GS

Or you could get the Tomy Turbo Smash 'n Crash 57 Chevy Nomads available at Bad L Hobby @ $ 24.95 ea.; $ 24.45 ea. if you buy 2. 2 different colors w/ flames available; but there's only 2 left so you'd have to get them now. If your Grandchildren like to crash the cars anyway; these would be more fun as they break apart when they crash. :wave:


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## Elcaminobill

Don't encourage them!. The concept of slowing down for the turns seem to be the hardest concept for some of them to grasp.


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## Grandcheapskate

Why aren't slot cars more popular today? One word - EXPOSURE.

Many of the points made in earlier posts are true. These are very different times than the 1950s, 1960s and into the 1970s. Sometimes for good, sometimes for bad.

But as far as slot cars go - if kids never have exposure to them, how can you possible expect them to be interested? Granted only a small percentage may end up sticking with them, but if they don't know they exist, if there is no support system in place, and if they are not widely available at retail outlets, they haven't got a chance.

How do you know if there are things which would interest you if you have never been exposed to them, or even know they exist?

Joe


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## alpink

Joecheapskate,Ii was afraid we lost you
good points all.


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## hojohn

they are still popular just not so much with the kids. i have two sons so every body style i get i have to have two so when i pass they each get the same collection. they get into them for awhile then something comes up and off they go. we just got to keep tring to get as many kids as we can to get into the hobby. its up to us to keep the hobby going.


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## aurora fan

Elcaminobill said:


> Like most of today's youth, they're very into video games but they'll race the slot cars for hours. We also break out the good old Hot Wheels gravity powered track.
> 
> Papa don't have no video games at his house.


 Tonight, watching the Flash on CW there was a commercial, it started out as a slot car track with scenery and the cars took off from a single slot lane and I was like "oh yeah" when all of a sudden it turned out they were advertising a racing game for X-Box...Anybody saw that?

No video games our house neither but I thought if the SC industry put some money into commercials and actually tried to promote the hobby then new age tweeners would dig slots they way I did growing up. Just a thought. Slot cars are cool. It doesn't matter how old you are.


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## Bubba 123

aurora fan said:


> Tonight, watching the Flash on CW there was a commercial, it started out as a slot car track with scenery and the cars took off from a single slot lane and I was like "oh yeah" when all of a sudden it turned out they were advertising a racing game for X-Box...Anybody saw that?
> 
> No video games our house neither but I thought if the SC industry put some money into commercials and actually tried to promote the hobby then new age tweeners would dig slots they way I did growing up. Just a thought. Slot cars are cool. It doesn't matter how old you are.


yup, seen the ad... :thumbsup: 
(they can use it 4 slots, just "Break-Away" from video, to REAL slots on tracks!!)

Bubba 123 :wave:


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## leonus

I agree with those who have said that with more exposure, or advertising slots might be more popular today.

However, I'm afraid this will never happen.

These days, whatever sells is copied over and over, taking the "safe bet" marketing wise. Anything the least bit "new" is quite rare. 

Look at video games. If one sells, you see 1000 other ones more or less the same, trying to cash in on success. Look at movies... Lame sequel after sequel..

Look at the real cars driving down the road, how similar they look to each other. They are all even the same colors these days.. Black, white, red, or some gray/silver/goldish color.

With rare exceptions, I'm afraid our culture has become one where innovation has fallen prey, like most everything else, to the almighty dollar.

I realize slots are far from new, but the principles still apply.


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## Rich Dumas

I have tried for many years to get people interested in slot racing with little success. It seems that the interest is simply not there. Slot racing also requires a certain amount of money time and effort, many people are short on those. Sometimes people bring their kids to our races, other people have invited Boy Scout groups to their homes. The kids will come once or twice, then drop out of sight. Some kids have been introduced to slot racing by going to a local commercial raceway that does birthday parties.
When you post the question here the people that are going to respond are probably already in the hobby, the best place to look for answers to the question would be among the general population.
It might be useful to do a survey of Scout groups or people that go to the races or to car shows.
Most people don't even know that slot racing exists, people that were in the hobby years ago mostly think that it is now extinct.
If you were to make a video and get your local cable access channel to play it you might stir up a little interest.


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## Paul R

This thread sounds like a bunch of old guys sitting on the porch bitchin' about how great the past was and how the present sucks. There is no money to be made in slot cars. If there was you would have a companies stocking the shelves with product. Slot cars have peaked. People have moved on. We can all introduce our kids and their friends to the hobby and a couple may take it up. My sons will use the cars with their friends once in a while, but it's really my hobby not theirs. They have found their own hobbies which in many cases are video games. Hopefully they are at least driving games like Grand Turismo or Forza. I was in my early teens when the first atari systems came out. I got into video games, but I still enjoyed slot cars. I still enjoy both today and play Grand Turismo on a regular basis. I was drawn to slot cars and it became my hobby. I shared it with my friends who were my age. Kids today do the same thing with their hobby and interests. Let the past go. Enjoy what you've got. Put the car on the track and pull the trigger.


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## aurora fan

Well, I sort of disagree, Paul. If the thread were named "Why Slot Cars are the Best Hobby" there'd be all sorts of positives like collecting, building, racing and what have you but the Topic calls for naming reasons slots might not be more popular - so how does one respond in a upbeat and positive manner?


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## super8man

aurora fan said:


> Well, I sort of disagree, Paul. If the thread were named "Why Slot Cars are the Best Hobby" there'd be all sorts of positives like collecting, building, racing and what have you but the Topic calls for naming reasons slots might not be more popular - so how does one respond in a upbeat and positive manner?


The new commercial showing a computer generated slot car track is very good. It and Pawn Stars help, albeit very slowly, perhaps at glacial speeds, bring a small amount of public awareness to the hobby.

I was reading a table top racing book published in 1967 and the talk back then was that slot cars had already passed their second wave of popularity. Depending upon your age and life experiences, it's either a great time for slot cars or a sad time. I choose the former. And, I am personally responsible for getting two people (one in his 30s and one in his 40s) into slot cars (HO) at my work. If everyone managed to help one person get into it, that's all I would expect could be actively done today.


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## Dyno Dom

Adults speak of massive snow heights back in the days of their youth, but is that accurate? 
Growing up, about 1/3 of my friends had interest in slots,
and we had both the Aurora factory & Raceway in a neighboring town.
Dumpster divers sold T-Jet bodies & cars for a nickel at school, after a while they became a hard sell. 
Could it be, among the scope of all slot scales,
that slots weren't as big then as our memories allow and not as small today as we believe?


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## Elcaminobill

One factor that may be overlooked is that many teens aren't into cars. Some don't even bother to get a drivers license.

If your not into real cars, would a car related hobby interest you. 

Probably many of us were into all sorts of car related hobbies in addition to slot cars. Model kits, hot wheels, matchbox, pedal cars, tonka, buddy L, local race tracks, NASCAR, drag racing, indy cars, go carts, etc.

I was into just about anything auto related. That's part of what make slot cars so cool. I could have a mini version of my favorite street machine or race car and have fun racing.


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## Rich Dumas

I was in the hobby starting in 1961 and slot racing was certainly big in the '60s. By 1966 Aurora had sold 35 million T-Jets. In 1/24th scale a million Classic Manta Rays were sold at $15 each. By the mid '60s many towns had a commercial raceway. New cars were coming out on a weekly basis, your state of the art race winner one month would be an obsolete also-ran the next.
Even back then the raceways woud take a big hit in the summer, a place that was usually packed during the cooler months would be deserted when the temperature went up.


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## effjay

*Hello*

Hello All, I just found this site while cruising the web, very cool. Speaking of slot cars, they took up most of my free time in the '60s for sure. I still have my Strombecker 1/32 track setup, although it hasn't been assembled for decades. I have my favorite car as well. Made the frame out of hobby brass and solder, swing arm contacts, What fun.

Bob


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## aurora fan

Welcome to Hobby Talk eefjay!


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## noddaz

To the OP...

"Why Aren't Slot Cars More Popular Today ???"

Indeed... Maybe that should be changed to:
"Why haven't we made slot cars more popular today?"

Build a track. Invite a friend.
Play.
That is all.
Scott


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## A/GS

noddaz said:


> To the OP...
> 
> "Why Aren't Slot Cars More Popular Today ???"
> 
> Indeed... Maybe that should be changed to:
> "Why haven't we made slot cars more popular today?"
> 
> Build a track. Invite a friend.
> Play.
> That is all.
> Scott


You've got a good point there Scott. I agree with you. :thumbsup: :wave:


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## philo426

A huge track was featured in "Pulp Fiction"!


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## A/GS

Elcaminobill said:


> One factor that may be overlooked is that many teens aren't into cars. Some don't even bother to get a drivers license.
> 
> If your not into real cars, would a car related hobby interest you.
> 
> Probably many of us were into all sorts of car related hobbies in addition to slot cars. Model kits, hot wheels, matchbox, pedal cars, tonka, buddy L, local race tracks, NASCAR, drag racing, indy cars, go carts, etc.
> 
> I was into just about anything auto related. That's part of what make slot cars so cool. I could have a mini version of my favorite street machine or race car and have fun racing.


Very valid point Bill; it doesn't hold true in my case. I never had a car or even learned to drive. But have always had an interest in cars; the design of them, and of course the Racing. Starting with hot wheels, models of course, which led to my interest in Slot Cars. The first Slot Cars were Gilbert, Strombecker, etc. Only later did I discover HO slots. At that time only two brands were available; Aurora Model Motoring and Tyco. I preferred Aurora. It doesn't necessarily hold true that to be interested in something you have to be involved with it. Case in point, I've always had an interest in the Military, Wars, battles, the vehicles, etc. Yet I've never fought in a war; or been in the military. I believe in the majority of cases your correct about what you say. :wave:


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## TK Solver

A/GS said:


> I never had a car or even learned to drive.




Now that's just sad...


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## A/GS

TK Solver said:


> Now that's just sad...


Not at all; many who had cars died in traffic accidents; I'm still alive.... well almost.  :thumbsup:


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## Bubba 123

A/GS said:


> Not at all; many who had cars died in traffic accidents; I'm still alive.... well almost.  :thumbsup:


it's very common 4 folks who live in metropolitan areas, to NOT own vehicles..
w/ "Public-Transit".. almost NO parking spots with in miles of apt/home/work/ect., ins., fuel $$.. ect...

always "Enterprise-Rentals" & "2-guys & a Truck".. 
2 get furniture /big items home.. :thumbsup:

Bubba 123 :wave:


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## A/GS

Bubba 123 said:


> it's very common 4 folks who live in metropolitan areas, to NOT own vehicles..
> w/ "Public-Transit".. almost NO parking spots with in miles of apt/home/work/ect., ins., fuel $$.. ect...
> 
> always "Enterprise-Rentals" & "2-guys & a Truck"..
> 2 get furniture /big items home.. :thumbsup:
> 
> Bubba 123 :wave:


This is true Bubba 123, this is the main reason I never had a car; along with the fact I was just too bloody lazy to put in the effort to learn to drive. LOL :wave:


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## Franko

Buying a video game is easier than building a track. Humans are lazy.


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## cody6268

I think they'd do better with a better selection. 

I watched that video game commercial, and other than (an older version) of the Ford GT, none of them have been made as HO slot cars. 

I think adding a few exotics might actually help sales. Most AW has are '60s muscle. Aurora made a few classic exotics, like a Mangusta and a Ferrari. I'd like to see those back. It's a little pricey to buy a used, damaged slot car body for the same price as a brand new Auto World slot car.


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## Rich Dumas

HO bodies tend to be rather expensive. You can often buy HotWheels cars for a buck, you would be lucky to find a JL/AW body for less than $6. For a while JL sold pullback toys with their bodies and those were just about the cheapest injection molded bodies available. Back in the day Aurora did sell replacement bodies, that has not been the case with any HO maker since then as far as I know. The loose bodies that dealers sell usually come from complete cars that are disassembled and sold for parts.
Aurora did do the original Ford GT and the J-Car. There are some resin versions of later Ford GTs, including a MKIV from MEV Originals.
I think that everyone agrees that it would be great to have a greater variety of bodies. There are many factors that keep suppliers from offering new bodies. The tooling for injection molded bodies is very expensive, I would guess that it would cost at least $20K for the tooling alone. There are also issues with licensing fees. The problem is that there is simply not enough demand to warrant that sort of investment. Resin cast bodies are cheaper to do, especially if they are repops of existing bodies. Some people do pops of diecast cars, but those are not always a good fit on an HO car. If a person carves his own masters his bodies might be more expensive. The molds for resin bodies do not last forever, so resin bodies are often made in limited runs.


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## Bubba 123

Rich Dumas said:


> HO bodies tend to be rather expensive. You can often buy HotWheels cars for a buck, you would be lucky to find a JL/AW body for less than $6. For a while JL sold pullback toys with their bodies and those were just about the cheapest injection molded bodies available. Back in the day Aurora did sell replacement bodies, that has not been the case with any HO maker since then as far as I know. The loose bodies that dealers sell usually come from complete cars that are disassembled and sold for parts.
> Aurora did do the original Ford GT and the J-Car. There are some resin versions of later Ford GTs, including a MKIV from MEV Originals.
> I think that everyone agrees that it would be great to have a greater variety of bodies. There are many factors that keep suppliers from offering new bodies. The tooling for injection molded bodies is very expensive, I would guess that it would cost at least $20K for the tooling alone. There are also issues with licensing fees. The problem is that there is simply not enough demand to warrant that sort of investment. Resin cast bodies are cheaper to do, especially if they are repops of existing bodies. Some people do pops of diecast cars, but those are not always a good fit on an HO car. If a person carves his own masters his bodies might be more expensive. The molds for resin bodies do not last forever, so resin bodies are often made in limited runs.


some of us "Raid" the PLASTIC hot wheels, matchbox bodies 4 customs ;-)
I've been even doing their Movie/TV diecast bodies.. :freak:

Bubba 123 :wave:


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## carlosnseattle

I blame "Comic-ON" or whatever its called. Geeks are taking over...luckily they can't turn a wrench to save their life.


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## carlosnseattle

*Seems like nobody drives slot ccars much anymore*

I miss the days when people actually "liked" slot cars and slot car racing. The only people who seem to buy stuff are people adding to a collection. It's sad when a toy car loses it's value if its been used as a toy or if someone plans to use it as a toy.


When it comes to enthusiast it seems like there are are two distinct categories, collectors and racers. You also have guys who like the modeling aspect too. But the problem is there aren't very many of us who buy a set or car(s), whether its new or used, open it up and drive it as is, and just have fun with it. I am not knocking the HO racers, that's fun and cool, nor am I knocking the collectors or the modelers. 

But how many of us appreciate the experience of the product as it is produced? If there were more of us, and more people who discovered slot cars who drove cars as box stock it would make the hobby more inviting. I'm primarily a 1/32 guy now and I hate it when someone knocks a brand whose cars cost $40 saying they are garbage because they don't perform like a car that cost $90. When I heard that comment the last time I asked the guy if his Nissan was junk since it didn't perform like my Jaguar XFR.

Frankly, the two things that irk me the worst are the nit picking when I've sold used stuff to guys (mainly on the auction site), and the idea that a toy that is not a toy is more valuable than a toy that is a toy. We used to say the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Truth is the difference is that boys play with their toys and men don't. I guess I must be the one who needs to grow up.

if there are any old kids out there...let's play:wave:


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## tasman

carlosnseattle said:


> When it comes to enthusiast it seems like there are are two distinct categories, collectors and racers. You also have guys who like the modeling aspect too. But the problem is there aren't very many of us who buy a set or car(s), whether its new or used, open it up and drive it as is, and just have fun with it. I am not knocking the HO racers, that's fun and cool, nor am I knocking the collectors or the modelers.


I think there are a lot of us who don't "collect" or "race". I buy cars to put them on the track and run them. However, I do not "race" per say.

I think HT and the other boards can make it seem like there are many collectors and racers. Let's face it, the racers are the ones who know how to get everything you can out of a car so they tend to provide lots of posts on tuning and tweaking questions, controllers etc..

The collectors dominate the trade and selling parts of the forums and sometimes chat also.

While I don't think there are a lot of any of us left as a whole in the HO hobby I do think the guys that have a track in their basement/garage and invite their friends over to run some laps outweigh both the collectors and racers.


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## Rich Dumas

One more group includes the people that I call "runners". They are the ones that like to tinker with their cars and run them alone or with friends on a more casual basis. Most people like that will never enter a formal race with rules, a tech inspection, etc. That might actually be the biggest group.
One possible reason that people don't always run a set type track "as is" is that often the cars do not run well out of the box.


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## gonegonzo

One reason I haven't hit on yet is the starch stiff politics involved and the lack of PROMOTION . I also hate to say the the majority of politics (90%) are in HO scale .

I race T-Jets and enjoy them but this year I'm giving them a break and only racing a selected amount of races . I've picked up the lost enjoyment by racing 1/32nd and /24th scale racing .

It's a more layed back atmosphere , no politics , great company and friendships that go beyond the track .

I hope in the near future that all the groups come together and PROMOTE SLOT CAR RACING as it should be . The lack of promotion taken away by all of the fussing over politics has robbed our hobby of a future .

Gonzo


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## Rich Dumas

There is SOMETHING about HO racing that is mostly absent in 1/32nd or 1/24th scale racing. I have seen that at actual races and also on slot racing BBs. Flame wars closed down a number of HO BBs. Some people became so disruptive at races that they were banned from racing and a number of long running HO clubs have fragmented or dissapeared.


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## Paul R

I'm pretty sure politic are in 1/24 racing. Check out the wing car scene and Retro scene. I've been involved in HO racing for around 5 years now. I missed a lot of the politics from the past that seem to fuel the politics now. I don't see the point on dwelling on them. I race with 2 clubs. One is pancake cars and the other is magnet cars. Have there been differences of opinion? Yes. Arguments? Yes. But they have been discussed and settled. We get together, we race, and we enjoy the company of our fellow racers. Both clubs have a solid membership of 20 or more members. Both hold annual rules meetings where anyone can speak and all members get a vote. We're having a blast. And there are other clubs out there racing and having a good time as well. Beyond the clubs, there are tons of guys out there racing, collecting, tinkering, enjoying the hobby. What more do you need? 

Here's some promotion: Step away from the keyboard and pickup the controller.


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## A/GS

I belong with the non competitive racing category. I'll either race the cars myself or with my Brother. Just racing for the fun of it. I also collect the HO slot cars as well. I like every kind of racing: F 1, Nascar, Baja, NHRA, etc.; I'm also into track scenery as well. What appeals to me about collecting slot cars over die cast is the fact they have electric motors and can drive around a track. Most of the HO slots I have are for collecting; I would never use those for racing. Out of the 430 cars I have; I probably use only about 50 for racing. To most people this probably sounds kinda stupid. To tell the truth it sounds kinda stupid to me too. But that's the way I feel about it. I understand how someone could be into just the racing aspect; but I'm way too lazy to extend the energy necessary for anything of that caliber.


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## alpink

I drag race slot cars and hoard parts.
have some Willys and someone said that makes me a collector.
promote, organize and run drag races.
put on exhibitions at slot shows and museums.
sell stuff to needy people and occasionally give to the really needy.
question questionable posts and stuff.
whatever all that makes me, I have to quote one Popeye .....
"I yam what I yam ...."


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## carlosnseattle

How can big kids who play with toy cars invite other big kids and some little kids to play with them?

There are tons of hobbies that don't really promote a lot. What they do have are robust gatherings locally, regionally, and nationally. If we could come together like that we'd gain mainstream consciousness. It really is too bad slot cars are kind of underground.


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