Market research about street cars

[DaveKennedy]

[goosenapper]

It is possible that this thread either has morphed in to a what gets people interested in the hobby discussion, or that that question runs parallel to the original.

The fact is that for most people not already in the hobby, American cars are the most likely to resonate with people within the American market because it is with those cars that the new onlooker likely already has an emotional bond. I’ve spoken with people locally, from hobby shop owners to visiting repairmen, and all of them lament the lack of American iron. The local hobby shop said that they can only sell so many Can Am and rally cars, and that their customers ask for classic muscle cars that simply aren’t manufactured. The repairmen show vague interest in my cars and then light up with excitement when a Torino, Charger, or Superbird is shown, as they hold them and go on recount memories of burning rubber in their youth.

Personally, while I grew up watching Indy and Nascar in the ‘80s, I also listened to the stories my dad told me about the European racers of the 50s and 60s, both in GP and sports cars, so I actually prefer classic race cars because I find the history of the machines and the men who both designed and drove them fascinating. Collecting and running those cars are sort of a way to honor their memories.

[strangebrew]

I grew up around dirt ovals in the 60's.....That's what I identify with...
I had a couple fast street cars..A 64 Falcon Sprint & a 69 Javelin 4 speed, & made many a visit to the local drag strip as a youngster with
shoe polish numbers on the windshield........................BUT.......... a scale dragstrip is way beyond what I have room for, so oval it is!
Now that I'm retired, I have a couple or three retro 1x1 versions in the shop that the visiting repairmen get excited about.
(Just wish there were more hours in the day to work on them)

[OctagonSpirit]

Generally speaking, businesses that promote slot cars do so through racing.

Racing brings enthusiasts back to the shop even when they're not buying individual cars, and increases the rate at which consumable parts (braids, tires, lane stickers, oil, braid juice, and to a lesser extent gears, bushings, axles) are consumed. Racing also leads to "hop up" parts sales such as wheels, pods and chassis of varying hardness, gears of differing ratios (depending on rules) and so on.

Further, in the case of the "performance" brands such as NSR, Slot-It, Sloting Plus, et al, they are often in direct competition with each other (sometimes specifically in National and Internation championships) that dictate that the cars are grouped by type, period, and driveline (classic sports prototypes are Mabuchi motored sidewinders, for instance) and as such products fall into these categories almost exclusively.

The home hobbyist brands like Pioneer, Scalextric, and Carrera have been most likely to produce street cars rather than race cars because the impetus there is on resonance with the home layout crowd, but once a model flirts with the club or commercial racing scene, it tends to stay there and become more focused on remaining appealing to that market.

[texasleaguer]

I don't really have a problem with race versus street versions of American muscle. I just get the race version, strip 'em, and repaint 'em into a street version. What I can't buy I build or change. I'm just happy to see the old iron out there, in any version. Like others on here I spent most of my younger years on dirt and asphalt ovals and drag strips. I put seat time in midgets, modifieds, and sprints. Even ran a junior fueler. Back in the day you built what you couldn't get or afford to buy. Now that age and my miss-spent youth has caught up to me I just apply the same methods to 1/32.

[HomeRacingWorld]

Well said, good to see one more person willing to bend some wrenches to get what they want.

[2FER SLOTS]

What do you chase around the track with your Carrera police Charger ?

[BARC 1]

Interesting topic. I am betting that slot car tracks home and commercial are built as race tracks and not as city and rural roadways. It only stands to reason the vast majority are going to want race cars, especially in 1/32 scale.

Now HO had a component of scale modelling enthusiasts who built public roadways and ran them with their HO trains. In this scale there may have been a market for street cars.

I just believe that the vast majority of people either build or set up their track to represent a race circuit, so inherently they will want race cars on it. There may be a small demand for street versions of cars that we may have owned in the 1/1 world, and thought of them as muscle cars. These cars were, "raced" between traffic lights! So your pony cars of the 60's and early 70s fit into that category.

Dan

[Fast Co.]

Same here. When Heating and A/C maintenance guys come into my basement through the garage door and see my track they are always awe-struck. They all say they'd be interested in racing with us, and I always give them a business card with a photo of the track on it and my phone number, but I've never heard back from any of them. Most of them are young, family guys with too many work and family obligations. They simply don't have the time. The guys I race with are older, many still working, but with grown children and more free time. Even so, conflicting schedules means that it can be difficult to muster up more than 4 or 6 guys for a race at any given time.

The vast majority of my cars are racers but I do have several dozen road cars (mostly Carrera and some Scaley and AutoArt) that I use to dress up the parking lots around my track. I run them occasionally. I always hoped that one day Carrera would do a '56 Nomad and a ''70 El Camino.

Steve

[proxieken]

Here a few old cars I upgraded with digital chips, lights, Gage tires, and in some cases vinyl tops. Except for the Road Runner they have the chassis they came with. The Road Runner was digital when purchased, but the chassis had a very stiff guide flag located behind the front wheels and tended to be a very poor runner. It also had a digital chip with no light wires. I picked up a Nascar version and swapped chassis. Now it scoots. Tail lights were made by cutting out the lights and filling the hole with clear resin and painting with red sun catcher paint.

The black Camaro was an earlier build and I could not figure out how to squeeze in headlights so I went with parking lights instead. Brutus was a chore but it has headlights. The vinyl top was because I got it used and it had damage on the roof of some sort that ruined the paint. Now I have to tear apart the black Camaro to add lights.

I will keep my eyes open for more to add to the collection. :D

[choc-ice]

[2FER SLOTS]