55 replies to this topic

[Rob Voska]

Driver classes for NEWBIE, Amatuer, and PRO are required.

 
There are not enough racers to run beginner, average and advanced racers so they all end up running together. The huge problem I see is once a racer gets good there is nowhere to go unless you travel a lot. Beating up on newer people is not fun and the challenge goes away so they quit. Losing all the time to better racers and constantly buying new equipment is another way we drive people away. Full-punch tracks that make motors important is another.
 
Why not a handicap system? That way the winner is not the guy that makes the most laps, it's the guy that runs "THEIR" best. Remember the fast guy has little to improve. The beginner has lots of areas to improve.
 

Maybe a breakout rule so racers are not forced to buy the newest, lightest whatever of the month part. 
 
Everything gets old after a while. No one wants to win when it's a hollow victory. Lap counting software could be created to put in a handicap system. Maybe the better racers start out with a negative total knowing they have to run 300 + 25 laps so they start out at NEGATIVE 25. While the average have to run 300 laps and the beginner gets a 25-lap lead right from the beginning. There would be racers in-between these numbers also depending on the finish over time.
 
 That way driving and making laps is more important than going .05 faster or buying a new 0.05g lighter pan.
 
I've heard people say in the past we didn't have timing systems just lap counters. So, we worked on handling.  Showing up and running the best you can and seeing the fast guy is always 0.2 faster is no fun and make some want to go home before they even start instead of participate and have a good time. New people seeing guys with five cars, 20 sets of tires, and monster boxes is pretty intimidating to a beginner.
 

There is also the advancement of equipment to the point many tracks are simply wide-open making motors more important.

[Cheater]

The fantasy in this discussion and in so many similar threads over the years is believing anything done or changed in a single raceway is going to have any noticeable impact on the number of racers.

 

I'll bleat it again: growth of the slot car racing hobby will never occur from the bottom up; it has to come from the top down.

 

The problem is that there is no top...

[Ramcatlarry]

"It is a tough business model to make work if it can be done at all.  One thought I have had recently is how have bowling alleys (talk about a big footprint) made it for decades?  I rode by one near me on a recent evening and the large parking lot was full.  I'll just leave that as an open ended observation and speculation."  quote

 

One idea from the bowling alley is that you can can walk in, RENT or borrow shoes and a ball  and participate.  IROC slot cars is the same idea - rent a car and controller with 'you break it, you buy it' responsibilities.  Many alleys have billiards or a bar for cash flow diversity.

 

Since the total number of racers is limited, combining driving classes within one race IS usually required.  Best of the slow guys is just giving some level of positivity to the slower racers.  Set a lap total goal for amatuer  to become a  'pro' class.

[Clyde Romero]

In most of my nearly 60 years in this hobby, I've had to travel around to find raceways, so I get to see and follow them over time. A major factor is real estate prices and whether the track owner rents or owns. Big cities tend to have commercial property owned by huge commercial real estate corporations that seem to not care if their prices mean large numbers of vacancies. Smaller communities often have real estate owned by local individuals that appreciate having property rented at a discount over standing idle for a higher amount, and this same scenario is sometimes found in larger cities as well. Discounted commercial space near a population center is a significant factor. In conversations with raceway owners, I find this is often a deciding factor as to why they've continued to exist. Another major factor is having additional income besides simply a slot car raceway. Two raceways I'm familiar with in California are hobby stores and have a significant business in R/C models. Several I've known have some level of arcade game business. Some survive by selling on the internet, often with the raceway primarily to meet the requirements necessary to buy from slot car distributors. Others manufacture or distribute slot car product in addition to the raceway. There are also those cases where the raceway owner is a diehard enthusiast and subsidizes the raceway's existence through other business or professional means. These are the primary factors I've found for raceways that have stayed around more than a year or two.

 

I've also seen several situations where, when slot racing was having one of its 'up' periods, a successful raceway would suddenly induce several other raceways to open in the same vicinity. Unless these additional raceways are serving different niches, for example, one caters to big raceway track enthusiasts and the other to hard plastic scale model racing on smallish flat tracks, then very often the multiple raceways in the area siphon off enough of each others' business that none survive. I've seen this happen multiple times. I've also seen situations where private clubs form around garage or basement tracks and similarly siphon off racers that prefer a particular niche or variant that isn't well served by a raceway that needs to appeal to a larger market.

 

Unfortunately, we slot racers are sometimes to blame. I've seen multiple situations where the local racers could not agree on a common rule set or class of car, or if they did, the rules were seriously abused to the point that the group seriously fractured and the raceway couldn't keep a large enough faction of any of them to be successful.

 

And finally, outside forces have profound effects. After all, slot racing is a hobby dependent on people spending their discretionary time and income to participate. In an America with a short attention span demanding frequent re-invention of anything to stay viable and popular and with an abundance of things for us to spend our discretionary time and income doing, keeping a sufficient clientele together over an extended period is a huge challenge. In just this forum, I regularly see people selling their equipment because they've lost a job, been forced to change jobs, had a serious illness, or some other reason that they can no longer continue. And then us old diehards are slowly, one by one, leaving this world forever.

 

It's a tough world for raceways. I sincerely appreciate every raceway owner, wish you the very best for continued success, will support you whenever I can, and sincerely understand when the conditions you face prevent you from continuing. I wish this weren't so, and slot racing was once again so popular there were hundreds of raceways all thriving across the country.

this is an extremely accurate portrayal of what has happened to slot car racing as a whole.  

Excellent job.

 

Clyde 

[Clyde Romero]

This is my take on this subject. You need population in your area, and you need low stable rent, for a long time I might add. 

Buying an existing facility like we did helps because people know where the track is.

and bottom line, you have to race what they want. 

If its chainsaws with Chinese tires, race it.

Right now, for us in the Atlanta area all of sudden its 4 1/2" FCR racing on our oval, go figure.

It's like the stock market, you never know where the bottom is or the top!

 

With regards to having a Pro list etc, you tend to alienate racers that way, you could pull that off in the late 60's when I raced but not now.

IRRA has that but that's a different kettle of fish.

Our sucess has been leveling the playing field so that the racers coming in the door feels he or she has a chance to win a local race.

[Clyde Romero]

Success in operating a slot car track is primarily about 'KYC'… know your client. If you open a shop, you need to research what classes have been popular in the past in that area. If you open the doors and have three wing car classes when Flexi racing has been popular in the past, you are doomed.

 

When I opened my raceway, we started by running 4.5 Flexi NASCAT. Not my favourite class, but had been the primary class around here for years. I had over 20 entries the very first night.

 

This isn’t the answer to all the questions, but it’s a good start.

Spot on !

[Clyde Romero]

one more thing

Traveling now is tough

gas prices and the cost of hotel rooms are a drain on discretionary funds 

as a former member of the armed services 

You have to really want to do this! 

Clyde 

[Clyde Romero]

The problem with 1/24 commercial slotmcars is you need an excess of skill to buy, build, plan ahead, and race them. Most people don't have the skill to be a top racer. If you're showing up and finishing in the back 30% every race, it gets old fast.

Yes, I agree, but it is a lot like my old profession, flying a fighter jet.

you get in the arena and get your nose bloodied, but after every engagement you learn.

and eventually you overcome your opponent!

Clyde

[Tim Neja]

We basically race at a "Club Track" that is in the building of a body shop business! Steve Foster has been slot racing since the 60's. And has been operating a track for nearly as long.  It survives because it's NOT his primary business.  But like all tracks--we have a challenge keeping enough racers to simply have FUN!!  Our most popular class is a "break out" race at 4.0 seconds.  A good retro car or flexi will go 3.5 easily.  So people either gear their cars to slow them down or use a choke --or drive to stay over 4.0!!  It's become great fun--we have two driver class's for podiums--an expert and sportsman and we all race together as it encourages the newer drivers to learn from the better drivers.

. And it's usually a round robin of up to 12-13 racers.  Lot's of fun and everyone enjoys it! 

[cuda man]

More recently, raceways in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Newport, TN have all failed to draw enough clients from slot cars as entertainment or slot car racing to succeed more than a year or two. The raceways to the east sprinkled around NC today seem to be running a combination of Womps and hardbody NASCAR, and that's what I expect would be popular. I know from my experience in the Bristol area that road racing cars like GTP and F1 were considered "those funny looking cars" and there was little interest in them. I'd take this as a pretty good indicator. I also know there's a strong interest in drag racing. Elizabethton, TN has had a slot drag racing business for years while the raceways with road courses came and went. It seems to me that anywhere in the Southeast, and especially the Carolinas, a raceway has to incorporate oval and drag racing. Probably never hurts to have something that caters to slot cars you can have at home, like 1/32 and HO, but on a track size not easily accommodated there.

 
Accurate description, sir! There was also a track in Greeneville, TN. which closed also.  The past year has been a bloodbath for commercial slot car racing in Northeast Tennessee.  Elizabethton has kept marching on, it's in a small town with a great downtown area, has a great drag racing program that is very active, wonderful ownership (who's a good friend of mine), benefits from modelers buying and building model kits, and isn't far from Johnson City, Bristol, Kingsport, and other points in the area.  They're trying to expand into HO racing.  I know of a 1/32 club in the Knoxville area (Maryville to be exact).  We're trying to get HO racing started back here in the Tri-Cities (or the new moniker "Appalachian Highlands" ) area, our group was active in from the mid-90's till the early-2000's, when life and other interests forced us to put our toys away.  The Pigeon Forge and Newport tracks were within distance of the Knoxville area.      
 
With full-scale racing, the interest is mostly stock cars, dirt trackers, and drag racing.  Car interest revolves around muscle cars, street rods, rat rods, dragsters, trucks, Jeeps, and imports with the younger crowd.  The main sport car interest are Corvettes and Porsches.  A couple of decades ago, a shop (now closed) opened here, and the owner sold HO and 1/32 slot cars.  He mostly stocked 1/32 sports cars and F1s, and they collected dust.  When he started stocking cars that catered to his clientele (NASCAR, muscle cars, pony cars, etc.) his sales increased (I feel like Captain Obvious typing this  ).    
 
I've noticed quite a bit of activity in the Cleveland, TN. area in Southeast Tennessee, both commercial and club-level and in multiple scales.  It's just outside of Chattanooga, an area growing by leaps and bounds over the past decade or so.      
 

[Cheater]

The same old, same old...

 

Since the organized racing activity in a successful raceway brings in no more than 20% of the revenue stream (and it's more often less than that), the kinds of cars raced does not have a significant impact on whether that raceway can remain open over time. Sure, running cars that the locals like may bring in more racers, but that's it.

 

If anyone disagrees, please point me to any raceway that became profitable or break-even simply by changing the types of cars being raced.

 

I don't know of a single raceway in the US that keeps its bills paid from racing only, and further, most cannot stay solvent from the revenue generated by the slot car clientele that comes in the front door, whether they're racers or not.

Phil Smith mentioned Dallas Slot Cars as having a large enough drag program to generate sufficient revenue, but I do not believe that is actually the case, based on unsubstantiated info I won't repeat.

 

To say it again, a raceway without secondary and teritary revenue streams either won't survive or will require regular cash infusions from ownership (the case with most of them IMO). To think otherwise is delusional, but it is certainly a long-lived and strongly-held delusion in the slot car world.

[jimht]

Oh no, more preaching and history and grinding the joy into the dirt...LOL, I can't help myself, just like Cheater.

 

OK, I've been watching this thread and everything said about how to fail versus how to stay in business is quite true. It's not as if we haven't all discussed this seriously before ad infinitum...but much of what works for a "real" business just doesn't work for a slot car raceway.

 

Many folks who open a Raceway give up in disgust after 2-5 years when the "normal" drop-off happens (and the lease ends) and it's someone else that inherits the tracks and tries it again. I've hit that dropoff several times and it just means wrong/dead location and/or too small a customer base...or maybe selling the wrong product to the wrong people in the wrong place.

 

I have always just moved, usually after 5 or so years, as have P.A. and Shontel...we're stubborn and we like what we do, so we haven't given up...and we've gotten quite sharp at finding the right locations and clientele. I've mostly been within 5 or 6 miles of where I am now for almost 50 years. I'm surrounded by a city of 1.5 million people and most of them don't know each other or me....but the "dead" Mall I'm in now (for almost 20 years) brings in new faces almost every day.

 

To actually address the OP's question at the start of the thread: the really big demarkation is probably the snow line. North of it basements are common so club and home racing is stronger, potentially providing a bigger customer base for commercial tracks. 

The South and Southeast, with some exception, have successful Raceways but tend toward smaller tracks and therefore lower space costs, perhaps because of the generally lower income in the regions. 

California, the upper Midwest, the East coast and Texas are just goofy...high density population centers, high incomes and/or more '60's diehards than elsewhere...but "slot cars, yeah I used to do that". LOL

 

When I first discovered slot cars in 1964 I was building chassis, rewinding amatures and painting bodies within a month or two...but it was well over year before I entered an actual race and it wasn't because I was working my way up to it, it was because I didn't care about competitive racing and neither did most of those who played on the tracks, and...we all had a bunch of cars to play with so that if one broke we could just keep playing.

Nowadays there's a complete lack of cheap junk that needs to be run to destruction then easily fixed or...thrown away and quickly replaced. Pristine examples of the original "junk" are in "Slot Car Museums" treated as something special when actually it just was cheap toys. 

Most Raceways today are either a variation on a Club or are "surviving" off of those who started 50-60 years ago with the cheap junk or those who are attracted like moths to the speed and simplicity of the new cars...but the beginner "toy"cars are too expensive to buy in multiples and serious "race cars" are so fast and flimsy that they self destruct under "normal" use, just like a cheap toy or a real race car.

 

So, business-wise we find ourselves in the same position as real race tracks. BUT, they don't try to survive off of a Hobby or toy. They've got racers. We've got racers. They've got tracks. We've got tracks. They've got cars. We've got cars. What we don't have are the large numbers of participants that come to watch. That group is comparable to the large number of players that would buy a cheap toy to play with until they moved on. We don't have cheap toys to attract kids to play like in the Sixties. We just sell organized racing and that's it. In my business I always have and still do make way more money from people playing with rentals than I've ever made from racing. Racing is OK and pre-pandemic I had much more of it than I do lately, but it never pays the bills.

 

Last, as a relevant addendum, regarding locations and success: If you don't have people discovering you or rediscovering you almost every day you're open, you're in the wrong location to pay the bills with any sort of business, let alone something as iffy as a Slot Car Raceway.

[Shruska55]

Thus far, all of the above commentary assumes that a pre-existing raceway made a run for the brass ring, failed, then release its assets to another person game to make their run for the gold. Some stayed local with the assets. Others picked up lock stock and barrel, pushing their Conestoga to another location to see if there was buried treasure in settling a raceway where they chose to plant their flag. Mixed metaphors, yes. mea culpa.

 

As a thought experiment I submit the following and ask for responses:

 

I live near Tyler Texas and was fortunate to find a Club track hosted by an amazing man, Chris Tanner (RIP), and a great group of members. I missed the hey-day of that track, but there is still a hard-core group and Tyler Slot Cars picks up a new member now and again. So, I have a local place to race. I also race at Dallas Slot Cars. So, I'm flush with 2 options, though they both require a bit of travel.

 

The TSC group has an extensive collective slot racing history in Tyler. At one point, there were apparently 3 commercial raceways, all of which have long since closed their doors. Texas, as a state, was 'target rich' with raceways at one point they've told me. No more. Unless they are running under the radar, I know about only 3 commercial road tracks running along with as many drag strips. Perhaps as many as 5 Club tracks, but please don't quote me. Information regarding tracks and locations in near zero.

 

To that point, I consider Tyler a pristine raceway marketplace. A place where little memory of those halcyon days of slots remain. And...a local and regional area whose population has expanded dramatically in the last decade. This has come primarily through the growth of the medical industrial complex which has made it the regional hub for multiple major health care systems. There is a wealth of demographic data available from the 2010 census. Plus, plain eyesight can see the explosion of commercial and residential construction.

 

Now, from the general comments above, one must need be crazy to even consider opening a new raceway today. Unless of course one has a private source of income to subsidize it or operate as a club with a fully owned facility and/or charge a small membership fee or... Seems like there are lots of barriers to entry to the fading feast of slot car racing. That is of course if I'm correctly reading the commentary.

 

With those few bits of Tyler profile, my question to add to this thread is: How would the group here on Slogblog approach a raceway/hobby where there is a hint of fond memories of the hey-day of slot car racing (the old guy cadre of which I'm one), coupled with a rapidly growing population imported from outside this burgeoning 'metroplex'? Note: The population may also bring in a hint of a memory.

 

Again..Think of this as a thought experiment.

 

Scott

[jimht]

re: thought experiment:

 

What are you selling that's different from every other Raceway that has failed?

[Phil Smith]

Phil Smith mentioned Dallas Slot Cars as having a large enough drag program to generate sufficient revenue, but I do not believe that is actually the case, based on unsubstantiated info I won't repeat.

 

Well heck. I guess Greg Wells' unsubstantiated info from a secret source, trumps my info that came from Jay Howard, the owner of Dallas Slot Cars, a guy I've known for over 40 years. I was standing  about 4 feet from him at the counter at his track when he told me, about a year ago.

 

When I went the place was packed, because a bunch of drag guys were practicing (one of them let my grand kids make a pass) and they had road course races with a good turn out going on. Looked like they were doing good to me, but I guess I should call Jay and let him know he's going broke!

[Shruska55]

Phil,

 

I can vouch for Jay and Shontel's drag program be successful. I'm usually there every other Sat for flat track racing and even without a big event, pit space is at a premium. I'm not a drag racer, but from what I've seen, DSC runs a very active well attended program. at least 12-15 every Sat I've been there. The flat track side is picking up too. Last LMP/NASCAR event totaled 19 racers and several regulars were not able to attend. So..post summer and COVID blues, things seem to be picking up.

 

The new Burleson drag track is getting some business too. To me, it looks like drag racing in the DFW are is big business.

 

 

Scott

[Shruska55]

re: thought experiment:

 

What are you selling that's different from every other Raceway that has failed?

Jim,

 

I don't know what those raceways were selling when they failed. Does anyone?

 

I've read on SB that it can't be done, yet there are multiple examples across the nation that prove it can.

 

Perhaps the better question might be: What are some raceways selling that have generated successes?

 

Running a retail establishment of any type is hard work. I've done it both on a small business level and for a corporation in my 20s. It is absolutely not an 'if you build it they will come' proposition.

 

Might that be a significant determining factor in the failures? Best intentions gone awry due to lack of the specialized skill set?

 

If all potential restaurateurs decide not to open a cafe because the 1st year failure rate is 95%+, I'm never going to have another interesting meal again!!

 

FYI: I'm arguing the FOR side of this debate because somebody has to. Otherwise, I'll have to hang up my controller if my 'locals' close their doors.

 

All the best

[Phil Smith]

I can vouch for Jay and Shontel's drag program being successful. I'm usually there every other Sat for flat track racing and even without a big event, pit space is at a premium. I'm not a drag racer, but from what I've seen, DSC runs a very active well-attended program. At least 12-15 every Sat I've been there. The flat track side is picking up, too. Last LMP/NASCAR event totaled 19 racers and several regulars were not able to attend. So... post summer and COVID blues, things seem to be picking up.

 

The new Burleson drag track is getting some business too. To me, it looks like drag racing in the DFW are is big business.

 

Scott,

 

I've always been an on again and off again racer. About 90% off to be honest about it. I did race a couple of years in Plano in the early 2K's with some of the current DSC racers I'm sure you know: Jay, George Mikez, Gary Dean, Dean (can't remember his last name). That was by far the most fun I ever had racing. Great bunch of guys (don't tell them I said that).

[jimht]

Thousands of business-experienced, well financed, intelligent, educated, well-meaning, serious people have opened "regular" Slot Car Raceways in every venue imaginable since the demise of the fad in 1969.

 

Most have failed. If there were a magic bullet, we'd know it by now.

 

Except, whoops, we do know it, we just don't do it...what is it?

 

Ta Da...

 

Make Raceways with small tracks and a product line of cheap toy cars that appeals to kids.

 

Instead we aim at a really small group of adults that are attracted to really big space wasting tracks, fast cars and racing.

 

(Exceptions are granted for drag racing, which really isn't what we're talking about, but does make a great addition to any Raceway and Retro, which has absolutely nothing to do with "real" slot car racing).

[Jay Guard]

... Retro, which has absolutely nothing to do with 'real' slot car racing.

 

Jim: I would really like to hear your rationale behind this statement. I do a lot of Retro racing and it sure seems 'real' to me.

[Bucky]

Can you give an example of a successful raceway with a small track and cheap cars that appeal to kids? I haven't seen many raceways set up this way and am curious about the concept succeeding in the modern world.

[Michael Jr.]

To actually address the OP's question at the start of the thread: the really big demarkation is probably the snow line. North of it basements are common so club and home racing is stronger, potentially providing a bigger customer base for commercial tracks. 

The South and Southeast, with some exception, have successful Raceways but tend toward smaller tracks and therefore lower space costs, perhaps because of the generally lower income in the regions. 

California, the upper Midwest, the East coast and Texas are just goofy...high density population centers, high incomes and/or more '60's diehards than elsewhere...but "slot cars, yeah I used to do that". LOL

 

 

OK, that makes sense.  I think... there has been a shift over time.  The stories of racing in times past seem to be from CA and NY areas.  MI and IL of late.  Now we are hearing about CA and TN, NC, FL with the notable exceptions of certain tracks up north that will not fail until the owners are done.

 

The home track in the garage has also emerged and changed the flow of where racing is happening but even that seems to rise and fall.  I've picked up to big Scalextric sets and I'm slowly working on a Carrera set.  I'm aware of another huge commercial Carrera that suffered from slow traffic and was boxed years ago. Not sure how that impacts the north, south and west movements of slot car racing over the years.

[jimht]

Slot Car Raceways are an amusement business that is based on playing with toy cars.

 

The primary market should be kids.

 

Adults can and should be involved, of course, but to pretend that "Toy Car" Raceways can be profitable without first and foremost going after the kid market is ludicrous.

 

What we have now is a product line and a business format that does not attract and embrace kids.

 

Radio Control is the best comparison. RC cars start as a cheap $15-$20 toy that can be purchased in any retail venue and progress up to where they cost as much as a real car.

 

We have the high end option but not the lower. Not only that, but  we're currently trying to sell a HOBBY product that costs a serious amount of money from venues that don't attract the clientele we need. Raceways should be in high traffic retail space as well as where they don't make a profit. Bringing people to a business through advertising always costs more than being where the people are already.

 

Track sizing and design is important to being in high dollar high traffic retail space..a couple of small 8 lane tracks take up the same space as a large one but would generate more income from sales and rentals. In addition, the tracks themselves should not focus on the cars going fast. Short straights help prevent demolition and good visibility is necessary for short humans. AND, I haven't even begun to start on why we don't have " small" digital 8 lane tracks with as many as 24 racers at a time in high traffic locations?

 

"But, Jim, why isn't anyone doing this?"

 

Well, not only because we aren't where our primary market can get to us but also because we don't have the right product to sell to our market.

 

For instance, what if there were a complete set of Lightning McQueen character cars under the counter for $20 each made the same way those crappy toy RC cars are made? So the rental occurs, the kid has fun...the price of the toy slot car is reasonable, it's an easy sell...and I bet there would be a low resistance to buying several...they would be  "collectible" toys...ya know   ...and the track wouldn't destroy the cars too fast, so buying more would be fun, DO YOU HEAR ME? FUN?

 

So, there it is. We don't have the product to sell that would make us successful, as we DID HAVE in the Sixties with a way smaller market than now.

 

None of that precludes larger tracks or faster cars, of course...it just provides a better base for them.

 

And, my Retro comment was tongue in cheek, if there's one type of slot car racing that involves a bunch of racers playing with the toy cars from their youth, it's Retro. It's Club racing in commercial Raceways with cars that have little to do with either toy slot cars or high speed pieces of space cheese. A Raceway with tracks friendly to those who like Retro and drag racing and building stuff that isn't destroyed while it's being used would work just fine, cough, Dallas, cough, Slot Cars, cough.

 

Note, though, that if you want real success, the "Toy Car Raceway" needs more kids than adults.

 

And that brings to mind the comment earlier in the thread about bowling alleys...that work with "only" 24 lanes, for instance, but 6 people at a time can play and compete on each lane. How do they make any money?   

[Paul Menkens]

I intend to write a longer post in this stream at some point, but just out of curiosity, what kind of advertising do various raceways use? It seems to me that country and western radio stations would work. Please don't say "we advertise on Facebook" because whatever that is, advertising it is not. 

[Phil Smith]

My grand kids have an inexpensive small RC car that is surprisingly fast. And the battery last a long time. And has trim for the steering and throttle. Hard to believe something like that exist at that price point. And you don't have to go anywhere to play with it. Walk out your front door, throw it on the ground and the fun begins.

 

The thing about the '60s, slot cars were the new, cool toy to play with. Not anymore. There are so many other options that I think most kids would find much more appealing.

 

Like Dallas Slot Cars. My grand kids thought it was neat. I told them I might get a drag car for them. But they never mentioned it again. Lots of other things they'd rather do.

 

Times change. Slot cars now are a nostalgia hobby. It's never going to be the new, cool thing to do again.