Even if for some reason they are not, it's all they got the way things are now unless they do a paper survey or telephone calls which is not likely to happen.

Now you've got me really thinking about this. One method that might be interesting is to send out an army simply to inventory what is on the pegs and how long it has been there. It might be a good look at what is really selling, and you would be looking at actual behavior instead of opinions. The fun part is that I bet that passionate JL collectors would volunteer for this army without being paid an arm and a leg, so it would be cheaper than paying a market research company. Do it right, and you kill two birds with one stone -- get valuable data, and reestablish dialogue with the collectors who want input. This leaves out the e-tailers, but there are other ways to handle that angle.

Flight of fancy, maybe, but still fun to think about...

Now you've got me really thinking about this. One method that might be interesting is to send out an army simply to inventory what is on the pegs and how long it has been there. It might be a good look at what is really selling, and you would be looking at actual behavior instead of opinions. The fun part is that I bet that passionate JL collectors would volunteer for this army without being paid an arm and a leg, so it would be cheaper than paying a market research company. Do it right, and you kill two birds with one stone -- get valuable data, and reestablish dialogue with the collectors who want input. This leaves out the e-tailers, but there are other ways to handle that angle.

Flight of fancy, maybe, but still fun to think about...

Interesting idea but I doubt if there would actully be an army that would be willing to spend the time and volunteer. The verbal opinons expressed here, which there are many as you know, of the hits and misses should be a very good measure as to what's generally hot and what's not and should help lead RC2 in a general direction of what would more that likely be popular.

And HT is about as self-selected a sample as you can get. There are lots of JL collectors who don't post here, and it's easy to imagine that their views are lots different from the kinds of things we say. The people who love the themed stuff, for instance, don't post here very much. It isn't because they don't exist (some of those lines sell very well). It's probably for other reasons -- perhaps because they wouldn't find a lot of folks here who share their enthusiasm. That's just one of many ways that RC2 would get a non-representative sample just by reading this board.

They would be eaten alive.

They (GM) must be using the wrong varibles for input, their sales, as you know has gone south. That's another nasty thread. Actually if there was an equation out there to work off of then the I should get this because he got that would possibly be less relevant. All they would have to do is utilize an equation. Interesting, very interesting.

GM makes some of the best cars out there, performance wise, options, handling, and quality. There problems are appearance. They make the most boring looking cars right now, except for the Vette.

Interesting idea but I doubt if there would actully be an army that would be willing to spend the time and volunteer. The verbal opinons expressed here, which there are many as you know, of the hits and misses should be a very good measure as to what's generally hot and what's not and should help lead RC2 in a general direction of what would more that likely be popular.

I'm guessing we would hit some and miss some, like any group that isn't random. For instance, I think PM was pretty happy that they didn't listen to us on the Zingers when they were announced. Remember how hard we came down (generally) on that series? They aren't all selling, but most of them that aren't Cutlasses seem to find an audience.

GM makes some of the best cars out there, performance wise, options, handling, and quality. There problems are appearance. They make the most boring looking cars right now, except for the Vette.

Yea, they need to take some chances on design, I would agree with that.

I'm guessing we would hit some and miss some, like any group that isn't random. For instance, I think PM was pretty happy that they didn't listen to us on the Zingers when they were announced. Remember how hard we came down (generally) on that series? They aren't all selling, but most of them that aren't Cutlasses seem to find an audience.

Actually I think our random and varied background of not excluding any type of preference, posting people, liked them very much overall. :p I know there were several that didn't like them but I'm remembering an overall very favorable response....and yes they have sold very well.

Not that we have seen, they haven't, very sloooooooowwwww sellers

They have all but disappeared all over central Ohio...at least where I have been.

I would gladly ship ours there!!! :lol:

Hehehe, yup, I'm tired of looking at stuff I don't really care for also.

As a degreed mathematicain I totally and completely disagree dude based on what I already posted. The terminology he used is basically math specfic terminology in the sense he used it NOT overall market terminology. Sheeeesh. That's a foolish statement. We are a "perfect" example of a random sample as we choose to post ourselves, we are NOT a selected group by someone to specifically post about a particular/one-sided taste or feeling. How much more random can you get for tastes??? How can you NOT understand that??????? Also, why would someone lie about what he buys, that's a sentence that make NO sense at all dude. I'm totally dumbfounded by a disconnected statement like that.


Tom, it's not clear if you are faulting my statements or Pushin' 50's, when you refer to a "foolish statement" or "disconnected statements". Before I say anything further about it, please clear that up. Thank you.

BTW, I didn't say that people "lie" about what they will or won't buy, I'm saying people are creatures of emotion who may ultimately buy something they initially thought they wouldn't, or vice versa.

While I had no idea you were a degreed mathematician, and thoroughly respect that, I have spent a career in sales, and know that to be a basic truth.

Pushin50


Are your initials, "Del Torgerson" ;) and if it was, would you admit it?



:lol: :lol:

How many Random Samples did RC2 take when they decided to make all that Chrome Crap a few years back?

"If you can't beat them,join them-if you can't join them,eat them."

How many of you feel like RC2 really cares about the JL brand or your loyalty as a customer?

How many Random Samples did RC2 take when they decided to make all that Chrome Crap a few years back?

Although you can't give the stuff away now it sold pretty well back then.

"If you can't beat them,join them-if you can't join them,eat them."

How many of you feel like RC2 really cares about the JL brand or your loyalty as a customer?

I am feeling no LOVE!
I feel all they care about is money and stockholders. We here at Hobby Talk are not the voice of the customer, we are not a Random Sampling Group, so our thoughts, ideas, gripes and input mean nothing. That is what I have gathered.


Here is a thought:

RC2 should start a Johnny Lightning Collectors Club. And make a printed or maybe a internet Club Page or a Club Newsletter. And maybe they could have a Special Club Car that is only available to Club Members. They could sell overstock sealed cases at discount prices to Club Members.

Oh nevermind, no one is listening!

I find your posts very interesting,you seem like an intelligent individual who knows the system...thanks for your input,it almost sounds like you could work for RC2:cool:


So do we know who Pushin50 is? Was I right?

:wave:

Wow lots to read here. It's obvious that the performance of the Company is not where we'd all like it to be. I'm betting that this is known at RC2 despite what some members might think. I'm also of the belief that in some way shape or form, a year from now we will be discussing what a great turnaround year it was, and how glad we are that we all stuck it out.

I'm not ready to give up. I'm sure not happy with everything that I'm seeing. But, I still enjoy what I can get my hands on, and if I go a few months without buying a car, so be it. I'm not in the need of any fix like some feel they are, and that's fine. I have enough cars now and if I don't buy another one, my collection will be just a satisfying to me.

For now I'll enjoy my kids softball/baseball season. Put up with the hassles at work. And keep my eyes open when I can for stuff that might interest me whether it's in a store, at an OLD, at an auctions site, or from another helpful member of HT!

Feel free to bookmark this thread so if this year sucks you can rub my face in it! :D

Although you can't give the stuff away now it sold pretty well back then.
Maybe initially... Then they started milking the cash cow a bit too hard and plated everything in sight in Gold, Platinum (really more paladium) and I believe silver may have been in the mix as well. They would introduce a 'limited edition' run of say 1998 (to coincide with the year), then only change the packaging slightly with no change to the car and re-release it as another limited edition run. It took a short while for the collector community to wise up to this and they started avoiding this stuff in droves.

Then there are the quality control issues that plagued RC2 around that time. The cars were great to look at, but don't dare take one out of the package and try to roll it, it either didn't roll or it literally fell apart. And don't forget the RC Mint 1:64 line with the tires that melted to the plastic base. They redesigned the packaging so that the tires never touched the base but the damage was done. People stopped buying them.

At one point in the late 90's, RC2 had a huge amount of diecast peg space at Target, Shop-Ko, Wal-Mart and K-Mart. Today, they have virtually none.

I'm done, just fun stuff now......but I'll be careful and try not to tick anyone off. I still think basically the discussion was very good and I think my view of the discussion was from a different angle which caused opinon differences, which I'm very OK with.

:wave:

Let's see Tom, did you say anything that may have "ticked someone off"? :



As a degreed mathematicain I totally and completely disagree dude based on what I already posted. The terminology he used is basically math specfic terminology in the sense he used it NOT overall market terminology. Sheeeesh. That's a foolish statement. We are a "perfect" example of a random sample as we choose to post ourselves, we are NOT a selected group by someone to specifically post about a particular/one-sided taste or feeling. How much more random can you get for tastes??? How can you NOT understand that??????? Also, why would someone lie about what he buys, that's a sentence that make NO sense at all dude. I'm totally dumbfounded by a disconnected statement like that.

This was a simple discourse, an expression of differing opinions and points of view. Those comments weren't really called for. Try to express yourself a bit more civilly please.

it's like the energizer bunny, it keeps going and going and going!:D :wave:

RC2 would like some potential good ideas, and I'm willing to get creative.

Let's start with diecast. I've heard it a million times that muscle cars are the Johnny Lightning brand's bread and butter. If that's true the muscle cars are going to run out sooner or later. The current castings look so fantastic I find it hard to believe they could be outdated in five years, but maybe they will be, just like the older pieces have been retired and replaced one by one.

There are leaders and there are followers. I've noticed that in recent years the former Playing Mantis was more of a follower, introducing "me too" lines such as Scrapin', Import Heat, etc. whenever a certain niche caught on. Unfortunately, their selections, while often the most realistic castings of the bunch, often failed to impress the target markets. I purchased more than a few Import Heats and I do admit to buying some of the Scrapin' cars. But I also bought some of Jada's lowriders (the '90 Town Car, '85 and '95 Cadillacs are awesome) and some of the original "Fast and the Furious" cars from Racing Champions.

Racing Champions has taken chances in the past. Johnny Lightning (under Playing Mantis) didn't bother to make the Hudson Hornet, AMC Pacer, or Edsel... but Racing Champions did. None of which lasted on the pegs long. I have yet to get the Packard Caribbean for my collection, and the only Hudson I found was the model kit. Sure they made some losers like the chrome cars (gee, and so did Playing Mantis..."Boogie Vans" anyone?), but they did make some winners along the way or they wouldn't be in business today.

I had high hopes for this buyout. "Had" being the key word. I've seen good people let go. I've seen good castings/series' shelved or delayed. I can't find Hollywood On Wheels anywhere. Most of what my stores have gotten in are the cars I don't care for (and the same cars that most of the people here don't care for): Monopoly (I liked this concept- for the Monopoly pieces, but this release has lame colors...I know it's the color of the board...but still... and repeated tokens...meaning nothing for me to buy), Norman Rockwell (I'm 25... I've never even seen an issue of "Saturday Evening Post"), and the rejects from the last few releases of Street Freaks have been cluttering up the stores for a long time. I own a 2005 Ford Mustang. I was looking forward to this casting. Too bad Hot Wheels beat Johnny Lightning to the punch. I've already got three of theirs (THANK YOU PONY!) and none of the 'pushed back to September' Johnny Lightning. By the time it hits market, the 1:1 will have lost a lot of the new car hoopla. Just like the PT Cruiser series fizzled because it was too slow to capitalize on the real car trend.

I'd also like to point out most of what I criticized was Playing Mantis era, or Playing Mantis designed before the buyout. I know that. I'm just waiting to see what RC2 is going to do. I know they can do good cars. I've seen them do them! And advertising- I finally saw some actual Johnny Lightning advertising this year! In a diecast magazine- which I think is a good fit for a diecast car producer.

So getting back to the topic...what will sell?

Take some chances. Be the trendsetter. If the Gremlins, Pintos, Vegas, and Mavericks sell like the Dodge Dart, they're going to be winners. If Jada makes a series of lowriders (and they come up with new castings of cars that are important lowriders) odds are they're going to sell better than an overtampoed green '88 Mustang with BLING BLING wheels.

"A day late and a dollar short" sums up the last few years of Playing Mantis. Now that RC2 is in charge, there's no excuse for the 'dollar short' part. You paid for Johnny Lightning, now invest in it so you can reap the rewards.

Let's put some "racing" back into Racing Champions. There were some great stock cars, funny cars, dragsters, etc. introduced during the Playing Mantis era. Let's do some more classic racers.

Let's get creative with the older castings. Who else bothered with a '74 Monaco? And what use does this have for other series? Demolition derby time. Old pony cars (like the '76 Camaro and '79 Mustang) don't die, they just get turned into dirt trackers.

Speaking of old castings, there are a few that are in dire need of recasting (meaning the original castings are so outdated it's not even funny). The '67 Shelby, '68 Mustang, '79 Mustang, '68 Charger, and '72 Javelin are the first that spring to ming. Recast the '68 Mustang and '68 Charger. Use existing licensing. Make "Bullit" the way it should be made.

Reissue the General Lee and Bandit. These are going to be hard to come by. Herbie hasn't been overdone... a slighty modified Beetle casting could get away with being the star of "Herbie: Fully Loaded". The Hollywood cars have always done fairly well. As long as they aren't made up like the blue Nissan 350Z.

Let's try some experiments. If the Classic Gold Country Squire sells well, let's try a new casting (Olds Vista Cruiser or Chrysler Town & Country). That way you don't commit to say six new castings for a series that may bomb, but only release one or two in a given year. It helps keep demand up too, as there won't be too many of one certain car clogging the pegs at any one point (like Import Heat at the moment).

Playsets. And by this I mean realistic dioramas. Garages, car dealerships, drive-ins, etc. Someplace you'd expect to see cool cars. And make them functional. Some of us do take our cars out of the packaging!

There is a lot of variety in the diecast collecting world. Don't try to be everything to everyone. Find the niches that no one is exploiting and fill them.

Slot cars. These are unique. I don't have any slot cars yet, but I do plan on getting into them before too long. This is a line that can be expanded. The Mustangs were my first planned purchase. Sadly they're gone now. The police car for the "Dukes of Hazzard" release looks pathetic. A '74 Dodge Monaco would have gone a long ways (and would also make a good Bluesmobile, which might also sell well as a slot car).

If anyone from RC2 is reading this, I hope some of this helps.

I agree with you swifty, rc2 needs to clean up a couple of series and bring out some models and or series that other die-cast brands are afraid to do, they have to be a little more bold.

It is also true that eventually they will run out of subject matter concerning muscle cars series so they have to fill in with other series that would sell well, and they have to start soon before the competition gets a head start. 2 series come to mind and I hope other board members will agree.

1- please rc2 bring out a station wagon series it's long overdue in the mind of a lot of people, it's a no brainer, almost every mouth there's either a poll or thread about this subject, do you think it would be such a big risk?

2- police cars from the 50s-60s and 70s,I liked the Monaco, Galaxie and DeSoto but frankly you are due for a new series of this subject and think of all the variations you could make with this series,taxis mom's grocery getter, even project in progress.

Let's see Tom, did you say anything that may have "ticked someone off"? :

This was a simple discourse, an expression of differing opinions and points of view. Those comments weren't really called for. Try to express yourself a bit more civilly please.

I agree

I still think there are a lot of older cars that could be done. Being a Ford guy I would like to see a 60-61 Starliner, Galaxies of all years, 66-69 Cyclones including Gurney/Yarabourgh models, fastback 68-69 Torinos; convertables Rancheros, and station wagons of all years; early Falcons, and Saleen/McLaren Mustangs. Throw in some 40-50's cars, race models, and police cars. This leaves you a lot of stuff you can still work with.

I agree

Thank you, Bobby.