Life-Like, dead or alive ?

[Ralphthe3rd]

On a few different Slot Forums, over the past several months, people have been wondering about Life-Like Racing's status. Owned by Walthers, they haven't seemed to say one way or another, and people have assumed the LL Slot Car Division is dead and buried. But is that true ? Here's a post by Dan Cashmer(aka DASH Motorsports) that says otherwise >
<response from Walthers>
Dear Mr. Cashmer,

Thank you for taking the time to contact Walthers in regards to the
Life-Like Slot cars.

The Life-Like racing brand is alive and well. It has a proud history – with
great brand recognition and interesting products that perform well for the
casual buyer as well as the seasoned slot car fan.

While slot car racing is not our core business (of model trains), it is and
has been a fantastic way to expand our product offering and to be introduced
to new customers and their hobby. And, in the case of one of our most
popular sku’s – the High Iron & Burnin’ Rubber set – it’s a fantastic
intersection of the two!

Over the past few years, we have settled into a focused portfolio of
product. Unlike years past, the marketplace has not demanded a high number
of varied sku’s, so we have managed the line to be focused on a smaller,
core number of them.

The NASCAR license has been an engine of growth for us in the past. However,
NASCAR’s popularity has diminished in the past few years making new tooling
projects a challenge to justify. We are, of course, willing to investigate
opportunities if you [the customer] see some we may be missing.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at
custserv@walthers.com

Thank you for choosing Walthers for your modeling needs.

Sincerely,
Amy

[Racer Doug]

I spoke to the slot car dept. manager at my LHS shortly after the iHobby show last October. He said the the sales reps at Walthers booth wouldn't even discuss LL slot cars or were interested in any comments or questions about the current or future status, possible subjects, etc... In April his store was visited by a couple of reps from Walthers and the owner brought the subject up and was met with hemming and hawing. Their best response was "we have this really neat train set with a slot car track that intersects, isn't that enough?" So basically my friend considers LifeLike slot racing DEAD!!!

[DManley]

Well, they're selling "12" Radium Banked Curve Slot Car Track"... I don't think any green party members are buying those for the GrandKids. :D