FJ and G wrote:There's definitely a market for NASCAR in the hinterland ("real America"). Hats off to Lionel.
No doubt about it. I just hope the hinters don't ever put that train on a track and try and run it. Gomer and Goober and Aunt Bee will be pretty disappointed with it's performance
Dep
Virginian Railroad
DEP quote "The graphics on the tank car are TAPE that is wrapped around it".
I'm happy they did it this way as it now looks realistic Real crowds with real pictures
& thank you, Dave !!
johnandjulie: Do you own any NASCAR diecasts? The detail on them is just plane amazing for less than $100. I don't and won't own a Polar Express set. Just not my cup of tea. But I did buy my wife the Tony Stewart addon set from Lionel and it was pretty decent.At least, nice enough that I was interested in the complete NASCAR train set. That was right up until I read the review in CTT. I'm glad I read it before buying. I can live with the plastic trucks, but the loco, at least the drivetrain in it, has to go. Maybe I can find just the loco for sale on E-Bay and take the shell off it and mount it on an MTH or Williams GP9. That would be a MAJOR improvement over the Lionel. As to keeping the product price down, do you know how much they had to pay for that NASCAR licdense? It was NOT cheap. MTH is willing to risk a Silver Bullet train...which is a VERR iffy gamble. Pretty much ANYTHING NASCAR sells well, so the risk is minimal. This Lionel set stinks of them trying to make a quick buck on the name alone. And trust me, if any NASCAR fan actually runs this set, they are NOT going to be a new Lionel customer.
njalb1: Don't shoot the messenger! I only posted what I read in CTT. They tested it and it wasn't even possible to make it go fast enough to leave the track WITHOUT pulling any cars. They said the rolling stock that comes with the set is very lightweight compared to similar cars. They said that the included set plus maybe one addon NASCAR set are about all the loco can handle. And this is with LIGHTWEIGHT cars!!!! The graphics on the tank car are TAPE that is wrapped around it. Sending notes to Lionel is like whistling in the wind. They have their "marketing geniuses" and they will do as they please. I'm just glad I read the review before I wasted the money. Like I said, I'll probably just buy the shell and mount it on a decent chassis from Williams or MTH. Then I can pull ALL the addons and not burn the dang tires or engine off it. Heck, if I get an MTH I can even record the "gentleman start your engines" line and other sounds from NASCAR and run it that way!!!!
DEP
Sorry I own this set and the loco DOES have pulling power ! A lot of starter sets as this one is, has the Power max. The graphics on the caboose were a blur as its suppose to be two cars crossing the finish line. The only thing I don't like about the set is the plastic trucks. Probably will see more of that with the cost of die cast climbing! Oh by the way I purchased two sets one for myself and the other as a gift for $75 each on a Christmas clearance. They sell all day long on Ebay for an average price of $150 + shipping. I consider that a fair price and I'm happy If you think its poor send a note off to Lionel........... All I know is that you can't always believe what you read and I'm happy with my set!
johnandjulie13 wrote: Hello Deputy: I am certainly no marketing guru, but I do not think the whole NASCAR series was directed to current Lionel customers. As Mr. Calabrese has pointed out in his interviews, Lionel is attempting to expand their marketing breadth. For the typical NASCAR fan, this set may be very appealing, time will tell. In reality, is this set any worse than the Polar Express set? Is your wife a big NASCAR fan? Has she seen this set? What does she think of it? As a non-participant in the hobby, she may like it because she has no basis of comparison.It does make sense that Lionel would want to keep the product price down for a new untested market. That forces them to omit some of the pricier options. If they have success, maybe you will see higher end items get produced in the future. Remember that train manufacturers have had mixed results with cross promotional items in the past.I do agree with you that some additional NASCAR specific touches would make the product more appealing to everyone. Regards,John O
Hello Deputy:
I am certainly no marketing guru, but I do not think the whole NASCAR series was directed to current Lionel customers. As Mr. Calabrese has pointed out in his interviews, Lionel is attempting to expand their marketing breadth. For the typical NASCAR fan, this set may be very appealing, time will tell. In reality, is this set any worse than the Polar Express set? Is your wife a big NASCAR fan? Has she seen this set? What does she think of it? As a non-participant in the hobby, she may like it because she has no basis of comparison.
It does make sense that Lionel would want to keep the product price down for a new untested market. That forces them to omit some of the pricier options. If they have success, maybe you will see higher end items get produced in the future. Remember that train manufacturers have had mixed results with cross promotional items in the past.
I do agree with you that some additional NASCAR specific touches would make the product more appealing to everyone.
Regards,
John O
Yes, but it would also raise the price of the set. If you are going to (attempt) to branch off into a virgin market, then you must do your best to keep prices down. Chances are that most of the NASCAR fans that would buy that set would just display it on a shelf and never even run it.
Lionel collector, stuck in an N scaler's modelling space.
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
I just read the review of the NASCAR trainset in the new issue of CTT. VERY disappointing. I was planning on surprising my wife with this set for her birthday. But after reading the review, it would have been insulting to give it to her. The complaints were low pulling power, crappy graphics, downgraded transformer, and generally a "cheesey" set not worth the money. What amazes me is that Lionel would "cheap up" on a NASCAR item. I mean I KNOW that NASCAR fans spend MILLIONS of dollars on NASCAR merchandise without batting an eye. Dale Earnhardt fans are STILL spending thousands on his stuff and he's been dead since 2001!!! Lionel could have at least had one of their new TMCCII locos pulling this train and some cars with decent graphics and equipment on them. I'm sure they paid big $$$ to get the license from NASCAR to build this thing. Why skimp on the actual train? I like the suggestion CTT had for having NASCAR announcements instead of the low cost Trainsounds. It would have been cool to have a V8 engine sound like they had done on some previous Geeps they made. Maybe some "gentleman, start your engines" crewtalk too. One can't help but wonder what is going on with marketing at Lionel.
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