Well there has been a lot of chatter about the new Traxxas brand Latrax and there LaTrax Rally – 1/18 Scale 4WD Rally Car and the purpose of this new brand is pretty well summed up on the about Latrax page.http://latrax.com/about.htm
Now the important part to me of this mission statement if you will is this :
Today, LaTrax is powered by Traxxas and is staying true to its heritage by offering fun, high-quality, radio-controlled models that are backed by world-class Traxxas customer support, and priced under $200. LaTrax delivers the perfect combination of great value, leading performance, ease of use, and award-winning support that make radio control fun for everybody.
Now this statement has lead me to wonder if Traxxas is planning to use this line to retire some of the older Traxxas models and rebrand them under the Latrax name as they fit in this category and would be a easy way to fill the lineup. I mean you can't have a RC brand with just one RC.
Now bear with me here some of the vehicles that I think would be retired are some of the most popular RC's of all time but most are some of the oldest RC's still in production today, only being beaten by several tamiya models.
The vehicles I'm referring to are the Traxxas Bandit , Rustler , Stampede 2wd , and even the Slash 2wd .
Now why do I think these fit in the Latrax lineup: The Xl-5 Bandit currently has a Suggested Sale Price of $199.99 the Rustler XL-5 is currently at $224.99 the Stampede is currently at $229.99 and finally the 2wd Slash XL-5 is suggest at $209.99. A $30 dollar price cut is all that would be required to get them under the $200 price limit and as I count it this would add at least 13 part number to the Latrax vehicle lineup.
Then comes the question why make a whole brand just to move a few models .Well the simple answer is the most obvious the cars still make a lot of money for the company and as they have a huge following because of their reliability and aftermarket support this makes them the #1 recommendation for the first time hobbyist . All this makes taking them out of production a bad business move even if there replacements are just as good or better there will be public outcry.
So you're asking yourself why not keep them under the Traxxas name . Well Traxxas has slowly been changing their image over the years and It seems they are taking new technology and racing more seriously and the big 3 don't really fit in to this image well . Now I'm not saying any of their other cars are top of the line race machines but most are or were at the top of their Category .
Now to those of you who disagree about the taking Racing seriously all I can say is just look at the LCG Slash 4x4 conversion kit . If they didn't care about racing it wouldn't exist let alone the Slash 4X4 Ultimate or the Slash 4x4 platinum edition Granted they may not be the top of the line racer but they are competitive.
Now if nothing else you should be able to admit Traxxas has always kept themselves
in the spotlight or right at the edge of it and its always been a mixture of innovative / inventive products that have kept them there . 3 new vehicles from traxxas would be a huge deal
I really do mean every word I have Typed hear as I love Traxxas and I really do see this as possible direction and motivation for Traxxas to bring this brand back .
So if you have read this far I'm sure you are wondering what I think the replacements may be .
All I feel I can predict on this matter is that the Stadium truck would probably be based loosely on the Traxxas Jato as most of suspension would already be in production and the front bulkhead would be easy to adapt. A replacement for the slash would probably be similar but with a stretched chassis and new control arms .For a 2wd buggy I could see using the jato front bulkhead with new control arm found all the way around and new shock towers . As Losi has brought aluminum chassis back to 1/10 2wd racing I could see Traxxas implementing one also on the new models . When it comes to the Transmission I don't claim to know what they might do but i would like to see quick differential removal like the Jato has as I think that would be a nice addition .
Now on the new vehicles I don't see brushed power at all . I see a RTR Vxl brushless powered trucks and buggies and hopefully some highly optioned rollers similar to the Slash 4X4 Platinum Edition some time after the RTR releases.
Granted they have always specialized in RTR models in the early years they were also successful at producing competitive off road racers . Can you imagine if Traxxas had a win in a Nationals championship today with a buggy or stadium truck . It would probably be the biggest news of the year . If you want a small history lesson and to look at some of the old Traxxas ads referencing different wins follow this link.http://www.rc10talk.com
Now you're thinking I left the Stampede out and to be honest I'm not sure they would add a new 2wd monster truck. To me a 2wd monster truck is a beginner RC and it really wouldn't fit into the Traxxas line up any more as the remaining Vehicles would be targeted at the more experienced Hobbyist. Think of it as a Latrax would be your first car and a Traxxas would be your second or Third car.
was discontinued and given the popularity of awd touring / drift cars especially entry level RTR cars I could see them marketing a new 1/10 onroad chassis with the Latrax line as there are several brushed models and even a few brushless cars below $200 so I can see this as a very possible direction for them to be heading .
Now a few people have been hoping for a electric 4-TEC Re Release and I don't think that will be the case if they were to try and recycle some of their older Technology I would think it would be based more on the Nitro 4-TEC . Despite their similar names both the electric and nitro were very different but I really think a all new chassis and design would actually be more likely . With the XO-1 in their stable another electric on road speed demon seems a strange direction to go so I'm going with a new 1/10 on road chassis optimised for drifting as that seems like a logical choice. 
