In just one short year

[Czar]

It was only one year ago that Carrera announced it was tired of dealing with slot car enthusiasts and would concentrate on making toys in the future. I am quite amazed at how quickly they have faded into oblivion. For the past three, four, maybe five years, Carrera was the always the SCOTY with other Carrera models being suggested as possible contenders. This year a Salextric car was chosen and there is not even a mention of Carrera. I am not so ignorant or arrogant to think that the members of this board were the customers that kept Carrera afloat, but our purchases and word of mouth enthusiasm couldn't have hurt their sales. It is always interesting to see how the world turns.

[BARC 1]

Carrera know their market well. The cars they sell are solid beasts, and very well put together. I very much doubt their marketing decisions have hurt them at all. I was and am continually amazed at what you get when you get a Carrera car. You could almost throw them against a wall they are so tough. Just what you need for an entry level offering. Maybe no SCOTY award, but quietly providing products the run well out of the box for years. I look at them as key to catching the next wave of enthusists. Nothing hurts the hobby more then a Christmas purchase that is broken by Boxing day. Carrera products are solid and my perception and experience is they provide a quality that lasts.

[TuscoTodd]

I really enjoy my Carrera cars and continue to purchase the ones that strike my fancy as I REALLY like the fact that they use brass axle bushings and have removable front axles to allow for truing. (both things that I find to be a benefit when racing non-mag on wood). I picked up a number of their cars this year but most of those have been re-reliveries like the black Firebird, Chevelle, etc. Hopefully Carrera will continue to offer some of these items I find more appealing (like vintage stock car)

In regard to the SCOTY award - I have been asking / hoping for a G-body release for a number of years - so the Scalextric Monte Carlos were going to get my vote!
:)

[mattb]

One thing I don't think will change is that Carrera is the #1 choice for plastic track and maybe home sets for people that research them before buying or gt "word of mouth" from experienced slotters. Their track varieties and quality leave most all others in the dust.

I don't know much about their plastic cars. I do have a Ferrari P4 and Porsche 1/24 that I bought just for the amazing looking bodies. I have no idea how they run when stock. All the guys that here that race those cars have tossed the chassis and put modern brass chassis under them with silicone tires.

Whether I like the PR department and the company's goals matters not to the quality of their products.

[dw5555]

Czar you really need to let go of this tirade you have against Carrera. It started on SCI a couple of years ago when Carrera Digital wasn't moving fast enough for you and you started dissing them then. Move on brother, sell your digital cars that you still have and put it back into analog where your obviously happiest. Anyone that knows me knows that I do nothing but Carrera products but the lack of new molds plays a big role in the Scoty award and there is no denying the Monte is a welcome addition to a lot of people here.
Dave

[crossovercrazy]

Czar,

Amen to everything you've said. Also the fact they don't care.

Over the years I have spent a FORTUNE in both Carrera cars and tracks. The tracks can do what I want (the wide 1/24 scale capability I don't care so much about), but the four curve radius, ability for multi-lane banks and the quirky ability to offset the pieces by one lane with the crossovers and single digital straights has dictated my layouts, for the ten lanes currently and extra eight lane layout capabilities I have invested in. However, for a "cheap" market niche, their track (the analog molds of which has been paid for long ago for decades) is ridiculously overpriced, and inconsistent with the price of their cars - its like Schick giving away the free razors, and charging a lot for blades. I bought my huge stockpile mostly before the tab modification around 2007, and it is a real headache to put a large multi-lane layout (particularly banked) with the knuckle-skinning U-tabs (although I admit my approach makes it even worse by offsetting track pieces, which means I have to align 24 tabs simultaneously on my six-lane banked track to draw it together and try to get those tabs to snap). Even a simple beveling of the bottom of the tabs (so the tracks could slide together when used on a flat surface) would make assembly much easier in most cases (of course, they would have to make a slight mod to the dreaded U-clips, though). The accessories, like trackside figures, are also overpriced, in my view, for large layouts.

They had long-term winners with the aero stockers (and even the 50s versions), Can Am cars, 60s sports cars and even older classics like the Aston Martin DB3, but inexplicably stop making them. Heaven forbid they supply white bodied cars we have asked for over the years. They started the COT cars, and then suddenly stopped. I agree that the cars have a lot of features for the price, but are largely over-engineered with attributes I assume few people notice or use, and mostly have to be removed (and weird, overcomplicated disassembly techniques that must add more manufacturing expense). We could overlook a lot of this madness because for a number of years (well after the 2000-era when I started buying them), they suddenly became very cheap - at least for a while. Parts were near impossible to get, that you really wanted (I could get stocker axle assemblies on a random basis, but not tires ?), so the only option was buying multiple extra copies of cars.

Until just a few years ago, the most cars I bought every year were Carreras - they were the most anticipated each year, and I bought a number of Scalextric as well, but not as many. Then suddenly, Carrera seemed to lose all interest in classic american race cars and the classics and other classes many of us bought in droves. They made up for it by suddenly drastically raising their prices. This past year I bought an innumerable number of Scalextric cars (probably over 100 brand new releases (30 Montes alone), and a large number of earlier ones), and just 2 Carrera cars.

I for one got the message from Carrera as to their interest in my business. If they make 2019 announcements that I can justify buying, I will buy as many as they make, but I don't have my hopes up...but I can't wait for January 7!

[WB2]

Perhaps Carrera fell a bit off the charts since Dave Kennedy isn’t honking their horn anymore.
I’m sure if he was still at the helm in the US you’d see more Carrera mentions on this forum and others.

[lancelotalove]

Im suprised at the negative comments on Carrera. Must be something I dont know.
Yes Carrera cars are heavy, but the can be made to run good with some work and tuning whether it be full magnet, 1 magnet, or no magnet. It also has the 1/24 car line if you like that. Analog or digital options. 2nd or 3rd party options on car parts and digital stuff.
Pricing for a 1/32 analog car is about $36 now. Still not bad in my book. All other brands are more than that.
Yes they stopped producing COT, COY Nascars, but so did Scalextric.

We are running GT3 like cars in the RAA Proxy, and DTMs in the Carrera scramble proxy.
I also see race results for clubs that are running Carrera classes from all over the US.

Where is this info that SCOTY is something that just came out in 4th quarter and only 1 maybe 2 models?

[Z-carfan]

I can say I've spent a large amount of my money on BOTH Carrera and Scalextric this year, because they are both making cars that interest me.
Todd mentions many of the reason I still buy Carrera, they are a GREAT value for the price.
Scalextric is making the cars WE want over here (Aero Coupe, F1 GTR, etc.). We can be very thankful for that.

Both companies have great stuff, and I get it if Carrera does not feel like making stockers or other types of cars anymore, they
know what's selling and what's not. If Scalextric doesn't sell through the cars we asked for, they wont make more either. Simple.

If you don't like one company over another because they 'don't make that anymore or what ever' don't buy.
We are not talking about super expensive cars here, we are talking about 30-40 dollar toy race cars.
Have fun with them, that's what its all about.

[HomeRacingWorld]

[WB2]

[HomeRacingWorld]

It's more like "half" a new mold. The rest of the truck is the same we saw last year. I was just including it as the rear is new :)

There are lots of older cars that get re-released that are popular. That is why I like to see people chime in and state their own favorite.

A lot of folks here picked up the latest Scalextric GT40/412P. Older cars to be sure, but popular. Just a couple examples of many.

[mattb]

Having been involved in home racing since 1984, after a hiatus since 66, I think it needs to be said that the last few years have been a re-birth for 1/32 and home racers. There were 35 or more lean years before this re-birth. It's not a favorite theory but maybe the market has been fully exploited and interest and sales may be on the downswing. A toy company will not make product that has a small, limited market.

Every few months we get posts about a store/company/dealer no longer selling slot stuff. This is not because they sell a lot and make a lot of money!

[kidvoltage]

Carrera... we sell quite a bit of product for Carrera users at Digital Racing Solutions. Controllers, Lane Gates, USB cables, track clips.

And of course you do realize that the US is NOT their major market, right?

And once again someone wants to lament that a particular company didn't announce the new cars that they personally want but another did and that makes them the best!

"Why, oh why won't they make the Tates Auto-Swivel, the only car designed so that the driver always faces due north?" And yes the company motto was "He that has a Tates is lost".

Enjoy what you have. Find a friend and enjoy the hobby together. Perhaps tomorrow that dream car will be announced. In the meantime... well, make the most of each day.

[proxieken]