Jeffmaturo
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2015
- Messages
- 547
RC is a beloved hobby many of us have been doing for over a quarter of a century. Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that the industry itself has been on the decline. Major changes in consumer tastes and the way the industry itself is run has taken a bite out of the market. This topic is brought up occasionally and everyone helps identify problem areas and offer well intended solutions. But is the decline unique to nitro boat racing or RC in general? The simple answer is no.
If you are in the motorcycle industry you too are seeing a dip in sales. Why you might ask? Because bike consumers are getting older, dying off and many of generations Z’s population ( born between 1995-2012) feel motorcycles are far too dangerous and have no interest. It is a real problem for manufacturers who are scrambling to meet the needs of women and minority bikers in the hopes of regaining market share.
Full scale auto racing is not immune to the new generation either .Despite all the evidence to the contrary, a feeling of malaise hangs over the sport, a sense that racing has lost its mojo. Television numbers are down. Attendance is trending in the wrong direction. The fan base is aging, and new blood isn’t being injected quickly enough to keep the sport healthy. Millennials tend to be blasé about automobiles. Cars are increasingly seen as a utilitarian means to an end, and the romance has been sucked out of driving. “Mobility,” the buzzword of the day, doesn’t exactly conjure sights and sounds of heated competition. “Something that scared the crap out of me was reading a study that found that 16-year-olds wanted a smartphone more than a driver’s license,” says Tanner Foust, who’s earned a lucrative living racing on the edges of motorsport, first in Formula Drift and now in Global Rallycross. (Road and Track, Dec 2017)
So how does Nitro RC Boat racing and auto racing sell itself in a world where consumers have more choices and shorter attention spans? How does it appeal to its traditional fans while attracting new ones? How does it stay true to itself while adapting to the times? These are the questions that everyone has been asking their peers for the past few years. Turns out, they’re asking themselves the same questions.
For full scale motorsports, the way racing is captured and consumed will change, in ways we have not even thought of yet. For us, things are not so clear. Do we start to look at 40 year old rules and make changes? Do we make it easier to get into the hobby with ready to run set ups? Do we pull racers from other forms of RC? Or do we simply stay on our current course and go the way of nitro tethered boats? Something is going to happen as more of our racing base dies off and new comers don’t fill in the gaps. If you don’t believe me go to a flying field and see how many Nitro planes are flying.
Just something fun to read and a little food for thought. Enjoy the Holidays, see you at the lake, Jeff
If you are in the motorcycle industry you too are seeing a dip in sales. Why you might ask? Because bike consumers are getting older, dying off and many of generations Z’s population ( born between 1995-2012) feel motorcycles are far too dangerous and have no interest. It is a real problem for manufacturers who are scrambling to meet the needs of women and minority bikers in the hopes of regaining market share.
Full scale auto racing is not immune to the new generation either .Despite all the evidence to the contrary, a feeling of malaise hangs over the sport, a sense that racing has lost its mojo. Television numbers are down. Attendance is trending in the wrong direction. The fan base is aging, and new blood isn’t being injected quickly enough to keep the sport healthy. Millennials tend to be blasé about automobiles. Cars are increasingly seen as a utilitarian means to an end, and the romance has been sucked out of driving. “Mobility,” the buzzword of the day, doesn’t exactly conjure sights and sounds of heated competition. “Something that scared the crap out of me was reading a study that found that 16-year-olds wanted a smartphone more than a driver’s license,” says Tanner Foust, who’s earned a lucrative living racing on the edges of motorsport, first in Formula Drift and now in Global Rallycross. (Road and Track, Dec 2017)
So how does Nitro RC Boat racing and auto racing sell itself in a world where consumers have more choices and shorter attention spans? How does it appeal to its traditional fans while attracting new ones? How does it stay true to itself while adapting to the times? These are the questions that everyone has been asking their peers for the past few years. Turns out, they’re asking themselves the same questions.
For full scale motorsports, the way racing is captured and consumed will change, in ways we have not even thought of yet. For us, things are not so clear. Do we start to look at 40 year old rules and make changes? Do we make it easier to get into the hobby with ready to run set ups? Do we pull racers from other forms of RC? Or do we simply stay on our current course and go the way of nitro tethered boats? Something is going to happen as more of our racing base dies off and new comers don’t fill in the gaps. If you don’t believe me go to a flying field and see how many Nitro planes are flying.
Just something fun to read and a little food for thought. Enjoy the Holidays, see you at the lake, Jeff