THE Cub Report – 3 Day Weekends…
Hopefully you are off work and getting ready for an evening BBQ, or a day out bashing your cars, or better still, both. And while most of you know what Memorial Day is for, for those of you that do not, it is the day that we remember those that paid the ultimate price so that you and I can have a peaceful BBQ, so that we can go out and bash toy cars, so that we can simply enjoy Freedom.
Ok, so I know you would rather be chill’n out with your family (or crew) today, so I will keep this Cub Report on the short side (why do those end up being the longest ones???). But seriously, short and sweet today.
Traxxas TRX-4 mania has officially taken off. The entire marketing process for the truck seems to have worked extremely well. The truck was debuted at Nuremburg, then it had some more info drop here and there, then they hit early release hobby shops, then the media got their hands on it. Now it looks like they are starting to hit consumer hands, with from what I’ve seen, a quite warm reception. Soon that truck will be everywhere, the aftermarket is going to go crazy, and scaling will be in for a giant boost this summer.
Last week I received emails from a couple of different companies kinda freaking out about how much coverage the TRX-4 has been getting here on BSRC. I had to tell them that no, a Brinks’ truck had not shown up outside our office pouring out mountains of cash for us to go on a TRX-4 only posting spree. We are talking about the TRX-4 for one reason- it is arguably the biggest release since the Slash, and that is a good thing for everyone in our hobby. It is good for consumers, it is good for hobby shop owners, heck, it is even good for other manufacturers. Our hobby needed a massive shot of excitement and here it is. With all the marketing buzz that is going on right now, it will get people into hobby shops or clicking the “Buy Now!” button on various websites. And not all the consumers caught up in the buzz are going to walk out of their LHS with a TRX-4. Once inside a store they might see another genre that actually suits their tastes better, like a monster truck, or a race buggy, etc. Plus, no matter what truck they end up getting, they are going to need batteries, a charger, tools, etc. So while I can totally understand how some companies are freaking out over the huge amount of buzz the TRX-4 is creating right now, it will actually be a good thing for everyone.
Also… the big press that the TRX-4 has been generating has got my inbox blowing up with “hints” of new trucks coming from a couple of other huge names. It is easy enough for them to see how well the Traxxas is doing, so they have already been cranking up the overtime to get some new vehicles of their own on the market. I have the feeling that new truck releases for the Christmas shopping season is going to be off the freak’n hook this year. Which of course is going to also be great for the hobby. The Rocky Mountain Hobby Expo in late October would probably be a great announcement time, but we shall see just what, and when, the other manufacturers are able to crank out in response to the TRX-4. Wow, for the first time in a long time, our hobby is seriously looking up.
With that I will leave you for this week. Enjoy some time off and see you again next week. Until then, get out and support your local hobby shops and bash areas whenever you can.
YOUR Cub Reporter
