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Post by mstar on Sept 18, 2006 13:45:21 GMT 1
I was in New York last week and two cars dominate the scene there. First it's the Ford Crown Victoria as Yellow Cab and the other is the Lincoln Town Car in black.
The Ford will be possibly sold as cab by Model Power. But The Lincoln is not in sight. So I hope to see this as a model in future, too.
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Post by mstar on Jul 2, 2006 11:28:07 GMT 1
Thanks for your reply Bill.
Hope the court battle turns out right ;-)
Too bad with Daihatsu, because the Copen is such an outstanding car...
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Post by mstar on Jun 29, 2006 12:13:46 GMT 1
Hey!
With the new Opel GT it's the same problem in licensing, isn't it? Or maybe GM is not that strict with Opel anymore?! Would be great. I would also like to see the Daihatsu Copen, it's such a funny car. Couldn't Ricko try to get a license for it? :-)
Markus
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Post by mstar on Dec 16, 2007 1:52:36 GMT 1
Looking at 11 pages of discussion on this one topic, it is clear that most of the devoted collectors on this board would love some Japanese vehicles but the evidence put forward so far has convinced me that it is a very remote possibility. I think that Ricko has made up their mind and that the 50 of us writing on this board cannot change that, no matter how passionate we are about the subject. Yes, sadly but true... Another thing about the RPS Ford Edge. I also think it will not nearly sell as good as the Pick-UP. But I worry more about how much the Ford Taurus/500 will sell. This model is so boring and uninteresting, that a Toyota Camry beside it is an absolutely beauty. It will not attract European buyers, because it's not obviously American or exceptional at all. It could be everything. I hope they mold the Lincoln Town Car and Navigator first... So, I still hope for my Japanese Cars (and later Korean ;D)
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Post by mstar on Dec 15, 2007 11:14:43 GMT 1
Mh, Marc's arguments are really very convincing...however, maybe someone nonetheless should just try out the Mazda MX-5 Mk.3, the Lexus IS 250, and RX 300/330/400h as a test for that market of Japanese vehicles, if licinsing just one or two models from this manufacturers is possible. Then we'll wait and see if there is a market now, or if there is still no market at all.
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Post by mstar on Dec 14, 2007 17:42:54 GMT 1
Rietze is lucky with the Renault Kangoo and Renault/Opel Vitara wich they can use to make Nissan vans as well. Rietze makes no Renault Kangoo. There is just one made by Norev. But yes, they could make the Nissan vans out of their Renault Trafic/Opel Vivaro but I don't they they'll do. They would have to pay licensing costs again, and this would really make no sense for them.
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Post by mstar on Dec 14, 2007 17:34:45 GMT 1
Rietze would not have done the Suzukis without industry underwriting, and they did not want to do the Suzuki Splash because they did not believe it would be succesful (after the other Suzukis did so-la-la). Rietze's business model is to do as many decorations as possible, which is quite difficult with the Suzukis: There are only very few police agencies and fire brigades in Europe that operate a Grand Vitara, let alone a Swift. Believe me, I have done my homework. Marc S. Yes, I've already mentioned that Japanese cars make not so much sense for Rietze because of their business model. That is why they would likely not produce sportscars or something like that, too. They make only sense for a company that sells only color variations. And, yes, Racing cars are really slow sellers. I have not purchased any of the Ricko racecars. I have only some óf the Schucos because these are otherwise unavailable models such as Citroen Xsara, Peugeot 307 CC, Jaguar S-Type etc. I believe you've done
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Post by mstar on Dec 14, 2007 12:10:02 GMT 1
Also, Wikings two forays into Japanese cars were singularly ill-chosen: Another MX-5, of lesser quality? Why? Another Pajero, right after Rietze's previous genreation model? Why? And Kato had no dealer net whatsoever. Were Herpa's Mazdas any less successful than they should have been? The Xedos 9 was a very strange choice for a 1:87 model, and conversely I never ever saw 323Fs remaining on shelves anywhere. I've thought about that topic all night honestly, because I felt so sad about that. I think the models chosen in the 90s were really not that good, like skunk mentions, although I would have thought the 323 F has performed better. But then again, a market research has to include more than thinking about models that were made over ten years ago. It should be looked how the Rietze Suzuki's perform compared with other Rietze models. It should be investigated, how the sales numbers of Japanese models in other scales (like 1:43, at least an increase or decline should be comparable to 1:87) have changed since the early 90s. One should not forget, that these models came out in a time, when the Ford Taurus was still a bestseller in US and the Japanese invasion was not as far as it is now. In Germany you had even an anti feeling to Japanese cars in that time, because they had bad styling, no innovations and so on. Today even Audi, BMW etc. look what Toyota is doing. 10 years ago, they just smiled about them. Maybe this research has been done. We have after always owning German cars bought a Japanese car, and not because of its reliability (which it has) but because of its styling. Yeah, they are cars that will be thrown away someday, but who saves his C-Class from the scrapyard?
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Post by mstar on Dec 13, 2007 23:28:45 GMT 1
Okay, I thought the time has changed since then, but on the other side you may be right. I think herpa has only a few successful models right now. I think you can recognize them on the different colors herpa has already made of them...so they should be the Mercedes CLS, the BMW 1series, the Volvo 1800 ES, the BMW 2000tii and the Wolga. The 3series for example has still not received a new color...no new colors for the Seat Leon, Audi Allroad etc.
Maybe even Wiking's VW models would not sell enough without being promotionals.
That's a shame. Life could be so colorful :-) Instead everyone is driving boring Camry's in America and boring VW Golf's in Germany...and puts a Mercedes Gullwing in his showcase. Sorry, for being sarcastic.
btw I didn't know that the Kato models and the 323 F failed. It always seemed like you can't even get one...
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Post by mstar on Dec 13, 2007 18:32:20 GMT 1
How can one make market research, when there is no market to research? I mean, I don't have the possiblity to buy Japanese models, when there are none (alongside the Rietze Suzuki's). I have all Herpa, Rietze, Furuta and some Miber models of Japanese cars. I have sold some Furuta Nissan 350 Z and Nissan Micra for over 20 €uros each, and these are worth only 1 to 2 €uros. So it seems that there is kind of a market. In the 2005 Busch catalogue there is written, that Ricko will produce unexpected and unique models (what Ricko has done, I thank you for the beautiful MGs, Alfas and so on), and it seems that a Japanese model is also unexpected and unique, because you would be the only one producing and selling them. So why don't you try the Mazda models and then see what happens. If they flop, fine, don't do it anymore (I don't think you go bancrupt then, you have had the Fiat Punto, which was a flop I suggest), but it would be fantastic if you just try the Mazdas...I'm sorry, but I just love them and it would be the best ;-)
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Post by mstar on Dec 13, 2007 16:24:19 GMT 1
I believe Rietze made the models as promotionals for Suzuki but I have a hunch if they were "flying off the shelves" (as Nick loves to say) at hobby shops Rietze would be looking for more Japanese models they could make and other modelmakers would be chatting up the Japanese automakers. Hello Bill, I have some of Rietze's Suzuki's, two Swift, and one Grand Vitara and SX4. I will buy more, when I find some. The problem is that you don't get Rietze models everywhere (even in Germany) and my model shop sells them much more expensive than they are in some internet shops, but then you have the shipping costs and you need to buy some to make it economical :-) However, the Suzuki's are great. It seems to me that Rietze does not make any cars without being a promotional anymore. They don't even seem to make new Fords. So it must not have anything to do with Suzuki being Japanese that nothing follows...And, again, Rietze lives from the different versions, but they don't have so many possiblities with Japanese cars. Ricko is totally different. They often don't even try to make more than two colors for the models (Lancia, Alfa, Fiat, Maserati etc.), so this would not be a problem. Additionally, I'm sure almost any Japanese vehicle would sell better than the announced Mercedes classics. I won't buy any of them, because I already have a bunch of these models. The Ricko ones will be better I'm sure, but I'm not interested in purchasing any model of a 300 SL etc. again. So we'll have to see who will be the first, or if we'll ever get Japanese models at all...Personally, I think it's a mistake not to do them (especially Mazda and Lexus).
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Post by mstar on Dec 9, 2007 21:53:08 GMT 1
Lexus IS and GS (especially the IS) would do better in Europe than the LS I suppose. Mazda models would do better than Infiniti I think. Best Infiniti's would be the FX and EX and maybe the G37 Coupé. Toyota RAV4 and Yaris would sell good, too.
However there can be always some unexpected success of cars no one would have thought of.
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Post by mstar on Dec 9, 2007 19:51:50 GMT 1
Hello: I am with Marc on this one too. Sales of model cars in 1/1 Does not affect its sales on model cars in 1/87. I think that Lexus and Infiniti models would have much better chances than a small compact Nissan model. Regards That depends. The Tiida has no chances, that's right. However, the Nissan Micra, another small hatch, for example, would have chances, because it has a soul. I have the ones from Furuta though. Nevertheless, I would buy other ones as well. The Yaris and Aygo (only available in Europe) are also cars with character, as are the Euro Honda Civics or the Civic Hatches always have been. The Corolla has no character. The VW Golf has none too, but almost everyone in Germany knows someone who drives it and it has always been the bestselling car here, and so they buy it. The small new Mazda 2 is also cool.
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Post by mstar on Dec 6, 2007 22:17:09 GMT 1
It will be sold in all of Europe I think. In Germany it will be sold as the Tiida, too.
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Post by mstar on Dec 6, 2007 16:43:52 GMT 1
That sounds fantastic!
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