the big 5?

[slotcarrod]

For the largest RC car sales in North America! IMO

1:Traxxas
2: HPI
3: Losi
4: Associated
5: Axial

For the best racing cars over the years! IMO

1: Associated
2: Yokomo
3: Losi
4: Kyosho
5: Tamiya/Durango on road/off road

For Vintage! IMO

1: Tamiya
2: Kyosho
3: Associated
4: Yokomo
5: AYK

For racing Inovation! IMO

1: Associated
2: Losi
2: Yokomo
4: Predator/Durango
5: Tamiya/Xray tie

[Lonestar]

3: Mardave. I don't know what their popularity is like outside of the UK.

absolutely zero - but I agree Mardave is a seminal RC brand ... and they did a LOT for the hobby

[slim_chance]

3: Mardave. I don't know what their popularity is like outside of the UK.

absolutely zero - but I agree Mardave is a seminal RC brand ... and they did a LOT for the hobby

Yeah I had never heard of mardave until I started on here. Now I want one. Just like I never heard of corally until I found mine. But that might have been from lack of attention.

[GoMachV]

1- team associated. Not the just rc10 era associated either- the rc1, rc100, rc250, rc300, 500, 12e, 12i, 10L and on and on. Each brought about innovation that was ahead of its time and the designs outlasted the competition. Would there be rc today without Roger Curtis and Gene Husting? Sure. But would the other companies be at the level they are? Probably not.

2-tamiya. Plenty of innovation here too, but stuff that doesn't always stick. Bushinged swing arms? Teflon sleeve shock? Realistic bodies?Yeah, without tamiya it would be boring

3- losi. Gil losi and ranch pit shop were a huge part of the growth of rc. Before the car they were the people bringing innovation to after market. Building the first race truck kit made for a whole new class that has always been strong.

4- traxxas. They are keeping the sport alive. They pretty much made rtr what it is. Although I hate rtr for destroying the hobby and making it more of a toy, it is also keeping it alive too.

5- nikko/tyco tie. As said above, everyone has owned one and they are a stepping stone to our little world.

There are lots of others that had innovation but IMO without the ones above we wouldn't be here today.

[cunawarit]

3: Mardave. I don't know what their popularity is like outside of the UK, but due to their low cost, there seems to be a club dedicated entirely to racing Mardaves in just about every part of the UK.

I agree with that 100%! UK wise Mardave racing is everywhere.

Its just a shame that Mardave as a brand don't get themselves out there more, there was a time where you would see Mardave cars out in shops, and Mardave ads magazines, etc... I don't see them in shops very often anymore, and I don't recall seeing an ad in years. Then again, perhaps Mardave is the Morgan of the RC car world, they simply will always be there and don't need to advertise

[DerbyDan]

Odd that no one has mentioned Schumacher yet - for me they have contributed to R/C competition cars with regard to innovation/technology as much as Associated & Losi IMO.

There's so many manufacturers of R/C cars all with valid merits that could put them into any list.. this would be my list, although purely from an emotional basis on my part;

- Losi ~ for the 5 link JRX2, moulded composite chassis (JnRx2) & for building the XX & XX4, nuff said!
- Schumacher ~ For the original 4wd CATs & developing the ball diff (they sponsored me too )
- Yokomo ~ For the iconic Dogfighter & YZ-10 & links with Masami
- Tamiya ~ My first car was a Hornet - & for their accurate scale shells etc
- Mardave ~ My 2nd car was a Meteor (a kind of poor man's RC10) The cars were simple & basic but they were robust & handled well, spares were literally 'pence' cheap

[Diamond Dave]

3- losi. Gil losi and ranch pit shop were a huge part of the growth of rc. Before the car they were the people bringing innovation to after market. Building the first race truck kit made for a whole new class that has always been strong.

For sure!!!

[HyperT13]

Team associated- The RC10 (As influential as the Ford Mustang). The start for alot of people, 80s legend, still today where you can find race quality.

Tamya- The Black Foot, you either had one or know someone who did.
vast diversity. Fun looking stuff.

Traxxas- Nylon plastic fantastic. Durability.
Revolution 1 VXL,
Revolution 2. water "proof" electronics,
3. easy to maintain 4x4 systems
4. combine them RTR with 2.4 radio and call it The Slash 4x4 ( What, you don't want one? ). I want one
They are far from perfect, but open the box charge the battery and have fun.
Nobodys bigger right now.

HPI- I don't know much about them but at one point the savage was IT

TLR- They have the right idea, the 22B looks like the start of a new direction.

[Russ Winn]

Most of the answers here are pretty subjective, but I think Slotcarrod broke it down pretty well.

One thing I think a lot of people would agree on, is that the hobby in general hasn't been the same since the RTR market became popular. In today's world of instant gratification, "hobby" cars have become more popular, while "race" cars have been in somewhat of a decline. Oh sure, there are high quality cars still out there, but look at Associated for example....Walk into most hobby shops, and the only AE car you'll find buried behind all the Traxxas stuff is an RTR TC4. It's all about marketing, and the times we live in.

With that being said, I only have two choices:
1. Tamiya...for affordable, realistic-looking kits that brought a lot of people from my generation into the RC hobby.
2. Associated...for high quality race car kits (and racing heritage) that made the RC world explode into aftermarket innovations, and competing companies, like Losi.

Just my two cents worth...Have a great day, everyone.

[slow_jun]

5- nikko/tyco tie. As said above, everyone has owned one and they are a stepping stone to our little world.

Not all, did not have one, but was amazed by it whem it was released.... Hahahhaha, my parents did not agree of me having one, but later convinced them to havr a Tamiya Grasshpper and that satrted it all for me.

[longboardnj]

1 ae best 2wd racing and i think b4 t4 sc10 are the best rcs made
2traxxas best 4 bashing
3tamiya best fun factor
4losi best game changer if losi was beter with parts id be into them
5axial best crawlers scx10 and ax10 rule
6hpi little bit of everything done different
the 6 here is all i really look at.. everything else just seems too off beat = no parts

[markbt73]

My personal top 5, not based on anything but my own likes/dislikes over the past 25 years or so:

Tamiya - Where it all started. I have a love/hate relationship with them these days; I appreciate the re-releases, but I long for something new. Then again, a lot of the chassis being re-released are "new" to me, and they're the only "major" manufacturer still offering their full line as kits.

Bolink/RJ Speed - I've had almost as many of their cars as I have had Tamiya's. Cheap, tough, fast, not brilliant performers, but a ton of fun. And the Eliminator 10 was actually pretty competitive back when pan cars were popular. Also strictly sold as kits, and still made in the USA. Would love to see a full-suspension Invader re-release...

Associated - the stuff of dreams early on, a sad also-ran in the RTR wars these days. But I wouldn't give up my RC10 or 10L for anything. Their biggest fault early on was that they were so good it was almost boring; these days they're trying to be "interesting" by copying silly trends. Only make my top 5 because of their earlier cars.

Kyosho - Genius. Their older cars are so intensely mechanical, with all the cast-aluminum parts and chain-drives, that you don't even need to run them; it's almost enough to just play around with all those moving parts. Oh how I wish they'd jump on the true re-release train with Tamiya.

HPI - A breath of fresh air in the mid 90s, with the RS4 series. Not to mention a whole slew of body styles of cars you actually saw on the road. My only beef with them these days is I'd rather see the more inexpensive vehicles like the Wheely King and that 4WD desert truck offered as kits.