So......um, Traxxas

[Saito]

So how does everybody feel about Traxxas nowadays? This mess with Tower has got me thinking. I know Tower (Hobbico) was probably in trouble long before the Traxxas lawsuit ordeal, but I can't shake the idea that losing Traxxas was the final nail in the coffin. I support the other manufactures leaving if they aren't getting paid. That's BS on Tower's part but Traxxas just comes across as just plain greedy.

I tend to focus on Tamiya and old RC10s but keep a few iconic cars around from other manufacturers. I have an old Emaxx and Stampede because they're kinda long lived products which often equates to good. I bought them second hand because I can't bear to give any money straight to Traxxas. Now I look at them and I'm not sure I want them at all. I know they're just objects but they seem to remind me of all the wrong the Traxxas does. I know this is all weird and probably dumb but I don't know. I tried not getting on the Traxxas-haters bandwagon, but recent events are making it tough.

[NomadRacer]

I have no dog in the fight, nor have enough true/confirmed information to form an opinion of who's right, who's wrong. Big companies fighting for my hobby dollars.

[Dadio]

I'm (probably unfairly) prejudiced against Traxxas as well , this is due to the fact that the biggest troll on rcgroups forum in s a huge Traxxas fan boy , his answer to almost any question is to get a Traxxas even if it's way outside of the stated budget , if you point out the budget he just tells you cheap cars are crap and no fun ..... I know it's an unfair prejudice but I just can't shake it . Rant over , I'll get therapy soon I promise.

[tamiyadan]

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[Timmahhh]

The replies from Dan and Daio pretty well sum up my thoughts as well. I believe Traxxas being involved in RC is bad for the consumer, and, well... since I'm a consumer, I basically don't like them as a company and will go out of my way not to support them. I don't have much to say about their products. I will say that Traxxas definitely does not make the best products (as some have claimed in the past) but thats about as far as I can comment on that since I've also never owned one, and don't care to.

[RC10th]

I think the history of the Traxxas story is a fairly good one up untill they started destroying the hobby. They make some pretty good products and some not so good ones. The recent stories however about them suing for things that have been around longer than the company itself and going after small companies is pretty piss poor. I feel their ego has surpassed their humbleness to the hobby and they need a good smack back down to earth. It's just a shame they have a majority of the market cornered.

I've never been a big fan of Traxxas personally.
(Sorry Special K )

[klavy69]

I've never been a big fan of Traxxas personally.
(Sorry Special K )

Not to worry...its all opinion. Everyone's opinion is a little bit different which is good otherwise it would be one big zebrafest.

Kinda like politics. Kinda like ford/chevy/dodge. Kinda like vintage or new...I think you get my point

As far as opinion goes...Early traxxas=good/after the rustler, bandit era=bad...and t-maxx is garbage so IMHO that only sealed me staying with my tried and true AE .

Todd

[Basher67]

I don't believe for one second that most any of these corporations care that much about the hobbyist. They care about our money. PERIOD. Traxxas is a RTR backyard basher brand and for years, especially through the nitro era, they were hard to beat. I have one of the original stampedes. Not only is it a great truck, It's tough as nails and I can still go to my lhs and get parts pretty cheap. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a Traxxas fan. Team Associated doesn't even support trucks that they made 5 years ago. That does not show me that they care for me as a hobbyist. Now, of course, I'm a huge AE fan, but that doesn't disillusion me into believing that they give a damn about anything more than the next way to get my money. The rc industry is one of the most competitive and volatile markets around. One corporation fighting with another doesn't mean a thing to me.
And while I'm ranting, why doesn't everyone cut the s%#t and stop bagging on T-Maxx's They were awesome when they came out and we all wanted one. An entire industry existed around that truck in gaudy billet crap alone. Every maker of 1/8 nitro buggys at the time were scrambling to convert their cars into big engine trucks to soak up all the money they could that surrounded the market that followed the T-Maxx. We all have an aftermarket part on one of our cars that was made by a company that got it's start making hop ups for a T-Maxx.
No disrespect Tamiyadan, but a Tamiya fan talking doodoo about the durability of Traxxas is kinda laughable. I will admit that the early days of white plastic/gold ano aluminum Traxxas trucks were plenty brittle, but my grasshopper, hornet, falcon, blackfoot, etc were not exactly what I would call bulletproof. Traxxas did change the materials of their parts, as we all know, and remain to be tough as nails to this day. I'm not here to stick up for Traxxas. I'm just saying---let's keep it in perspective. I can't remember the last time I had to wait on a backordered Traxxas part. How many of us are waiting on an Associated part to make its way over from china right now?
I'm not taking traxxas' side by any means, nor am I defending their recent actions. I'm just saying, I care about the rc's, not the corporations.

[tamiyadan]

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[Saito]

Actually, you're probably the most honest person about Tamiya's faults/durability that I know Dan. I hope this doesn't come across as a pot-stirring, Traxxas hate-a-thon. Dan's right, early Traxxas quality was crap compared to Tamiya. Tamiya hasn't changed. Still high quality but also not really adapted to the newer, insane speed brushless power world either. Traxxas has upped their game. The two occupy different markets in my mind (though they do overlap at times).

Here's a difference though. While Tamiya wants profits, Tamiya seems to care about what they do. Maybe it's being Japanese. Maybe it's because from the outset Shunsaku Tamiya and Fumito Taki were/are passionate about what they do. They do their own thing but they seem invested.

Traxxas also wants profits but it seems to be all they want. I just get the idea that they pander to a certain crowd strictly to make a buck. Now that means they also play the long game (which has its benefits). Customer service, available parts, sponsorship deals and dominating the American market. To dominate that market, they have to reel in the average joe and not just us "RC nuts". So we get the gaudy graphics, bling wheels for the drive-it-into-a-tree or jump it over a house crowd. It's a big clever machine after our money. Traxxas wants to make a good product because they want return customers. I'm not here to say if that's good or bad for the industry as a whole.

I'm just beginning to wonder if I want to use any Traxxas product as they ramped up the greed factor over the years. I already don't run them in public. If somebody comes up to me I want to show them an RC model not some RTR "extreme" toy.

[tamiyadan]

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[Basher67]

First of all, I would just like to state, that I love a good debate and it's great do do so with people who are informed and don't get all emotional about it. Tamiyadan, you sir, are a gentleman and a scholar. It actually sounds like we are in agreement about the honest history of these brands. I certainly would never trash talk Tamiya or Kyosho too much as I have owned and love both brands (no rere's here by the way). I believe they are two companys who are still proudly founded in their roots. I would never say That Tamiya became a joke by any means. For a while, rc was more about who could make a bigger more powerful truck and Tamiya really didn't keep up with that market to my recollection. But with the rise of scaler crawlers, I think Tamiya is more popular than ever.
I just don't think that stating "traxxas has always been garbage" is fair or accurate. Let's take my stampede for example. Released in 1994. What other monster trucks were available at the time? Do we want to bring up the durability of the blackfoot differential? Or how about the painful history of the famous Juggernaut transmission. Now again, this is not me bashing Tamiya. I still own a couple blackfoots and would jump at the chance to own a Juggernaut. I'm just saying, give the devil his due. Traxxas released the t-maxx in '99 iirc. They had been making durable trucks for a few years by then. I personally have always believed that the hate for the T-maxx is spawned from people who went and spent a few hundred dollars on one and never took the time to learn how to tune or maintain a nitro engine, but I digress. Now I haven't kept track of the sales records of traxxas but saying they have been in a nosedive for the past 12 years just seems silly. They have been a dominant force in their market for quite a while. Their biggest blunder lately being the X-Maxx
Your view of Traxxas is from the viewpoint of a hobbyshop and mine is from one of a consumer. A consumer who was there to see the evolution of the market, companies and products since the late 80's. I don't speak from second hand info. I have owned and still own many of these cars from all the brands and pretty much love them all for what they are. I can't believe that everyone is ready to flush such a big piece of our history down the tubes because the current corporate douchebags have done some shady dealing. That being said------I wouldn't buy a new Traxxas right now.

[Dadio]

This has started to feel like we need to separate the product from the company ethos , I'm sure the guys designing the products want to make a quality and enjoyable rc vehicle , whether they are successful is another story , the guys involved in legal cases trying to extort money out of other rival company's are going to be a different gang within that company.
I do hate elitist attitudes in any hobby and Traxxas these days do seem to market at the high end of the market and appeal to the clowns , it's a good marketing strategy , nobody gets rich selling to the poor kid with his pocket money or paper route but that was me as a kid so I feel I'm in his or her corner .
I don't think this was always the case with Traxxas , I could be wrong , but it is now .
However we are mostly interested in vintage RC cars , none of the money we spend on vintage stuff is going back to the manufacturer whoever that was unless it's a Re Re part, I don't see the need for us to shun vintage Traxxas products and they do deserve to be recorded and restored and even for us to take pride in ownership and displaying them , it's very different to buying a new car from them.

[Basher67]

You nailed it Dadio. My feelings exactly

[Dadio]

It's fair to say that the RC car market today is not as big as it was , drones and video games have taken a big bite out of the sales but the new tech has breathed life back into RC cars , brushless motors and lipo battery have been a game changer , this is steering off topic a bit though .
Tamiya's isolationist attitude to RC cars is another thing altogether but I have no complaint from my younger days driving almost exclusively Tamiya cars , their lack of innovation and just Re releasing cars is again a market profiling , kids who had little money and dreams of Tamiya cars are now middle aged and have the money to spend , it's maybe a little less cynical than the Traxxas current market profile but it's still about making money from those that have it , it just tastes better than what Traxxas does .