Notice the Carrera is raising prices in a week

[Mayberryman]

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Yeah, you just can't make a broad statement about a brand, really. With the strict and detailed rules that Spence's group use, you get a kind of "bare bones" idea of what can be done without making very much modification at all. At the very beginning of the Revell-Monogram Vintage Stockers series, the spur gear was tall enough to contact the track because they got the scale wrong on the tires. I swapped to a slightly smaller spur and the cars were very fast. As time passed, they overcame their problem quickly and there were many other things to do that worked just as well as my first shot at it.

Again, though, it always has to be said... the fastest car is only first about half the time. The best driver is first all the time.

[Mayberryman]

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Yes. Well said, both of you. Edison would be proud.

[HomeRacingWorld]

Since the day the classic NASCARS were released, never bothered to try and run them with anything else. The AERO Warriors were in a class by themselves in 1:1...and so they were here in scale.
There were (are) enough of them to simply race them side by side.

IMHO the Monogram chassis is far worse in NON magnet form. Mine run great only after full rebuilds or scrap the chassis and build brass.

Most of my Carrera fleet needed only some light tuning to run smooth in non-mag form. Yes, we have performed more advanced mods over time...but the last few I did very little to enjoy them on our wood oval.

But each club has their own rules and tastes.

Back to the subject of pricing...well I fear this really isn't the bad part.

The price is still more than fair for the models we are getting.

It's the incredibly weak selection this year. Zero NASCAR/57 or any new American molds, which in itself is an incredible mistake.
Not to mention plenty of other cars for the classic fans that could have been chiseled out. Flaming hot rods were not popular in the past and nothing has changed. Cool for some, nice for a cruise, but not a series to really build upon when you only get one. What would have been smart was a 56 or 57 Ford tooling to go with the 57 Bowtie. At least then I would have had more than just one car on my list for the year (Monza) that I already have.

Repeating molds we have seen over and over has not been the ideal plan. I liked having inexpensive examples of them, but the hard truth is that we have had plenty of Capri's, BMW M1's, 917's etc. We needed fresh, original thinking in the tooling department and it's not happening. When the right people had the hands on the throttle, we had great classic Cobras, Cheetahs, and a slew of classic NASCAR. Not to mention the return of the Torino.

And with the "new" Carrera USA selling direct now through AMAZON...the dealers I am hearing from are less than happy.

Love my Carrera cars, still the best bang for the budget minded home racer. The DTM is a fantastic series, but with almost 15-20 in my stable, I'm full.

[WB2]

Carrera cars in the US are an absolute bargain. One industry wag used the word “dumping” to describe Carrera US pricing.
I’ve looked at Carrera cars in Germany and Switzerland and was amazed how high the prices were in comparison to home.
I, too, have a butt load of DTM cars (all but one digital just for the lights; the oddball was a German exclusive only offered in analog). The only new DTM I jumped on was the Shell car; nice livery. I wish the Torinos would continue (AJ Foyt livery, please) and would have liked to see the Road Runner come back.
All in all, Carrera still has nice inexpensive cars that usually run well out of the box.

[Dangermouse]

what is MAP pricing?

In Australia the manufacturer or distributor can set a recommended retail price - but they can't make retailers charge that price. obviously they can increase the wholesale price and the retailers have to increase retail price to make there margin but they can't force that price retailers.

[mattb]

Better buy now before trade war tariffs kick in. Might be smart to look at all expected purchases from China and maybe do them now.

[JULES]

[quote="Dangermouse"]what is MAP pricing?

I'm fairly sure that is a policy called 'Minimum Advertised Pricing'.


Jules

[arroldn]

Bought a car last night still at $31.99.

[mikeinclover]

We have till the 15th to change the prices.
Mike

[ourwayband]

Noticed that some are showing the higher price listing,then you add to the cart and it is still 31.99...