Editing Radio-controlled car (section)

===Early commercial ready-to-run RC Cars===
- 1955 Radicon Radio Control Bus - Masudaya is Japan’s oldest operating toy company, tracing its history back to 1724. The Masudaya Toys (MT) “Radicon Radio Control” series of toys from the middle 1950s included a bus which was said on the box to be “The First and Only Complete Radio Remote Control Toy”. From eBay company “Yuzuhina Shop” in Japan, I received this: “According to my research…it was the world’s first radio-controlled toy, launched in November 1955”.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Palmeter |first1=David |title=1955 Radicon Radio Control Bus |url=https://palmeter.com/1956-radicon-radio-control-bus/ |website=Thirteen Point Seven Billion |publisher=David Palmeter |access-date=12 January 2025}}</ref>

- 1965 Astroguide Astro Car – In the July/August 1965 issue of American Modeler magazine, on pages 50 and 75, the Radio Control Equipment Report section included announcements from the 1965 Toledo (Ohio, USA) RC Conference about several radio controlled models made by the Astroguide Corporation of Addison, Illinois. Along with the Astro Cruiser boat and Astro Plane; the Astro Car was included. It used a plastic 1:25 scale AMT 1962 Ford body with proportional steering controlled by the single channel Astro Fli radio. Five different frequencies were available, range was listed as 150’ and scale speed at 180 mph.
The car, with three nickel-cad pencells and a charger was announced at $36. These items were listed in a later Montgomery Wards catalog as complete packages, the Astro Car with radio was $59.95. It is interesting to note that the range was still listed as 150’ but scale speed was up to 200 mph. <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lewis |first1=Albert L. |title=Radio Control Equipment Report |journal=American Modeler |date=July 1965 |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=50,75}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Palmeter |first1=David |title=1965 Astro Car Ford Galaxie |url=https://palmeter.com/1965-astro-car-ford-galaxie/ |website=Thirteen Point Seven Billion |publisher=David Palmeter |access-date=5 July 2024}}</ref>

- 1966 Wen-Mac/Testors Mustang - In the early 1950s, toy company Wen-Mac produced a cast aluminium, .049 gas engine powered Indy tether car, the Wen-Mac Automite. By the ‘60’s they were producing plastic, gas-powered tether cars. Then, in the November 19, 1965 issue of Life magazine, Ford Motor Company advertised an exclusive – “Only at Your Ford Dealers” - 16-inch, 1966 Poppy Red Motorized Mustang GT made by Wen-Mac. The price was $4.95. The ad showed a young boy playing with it indoors to show that it had a battery-powered electric motor. However, the ad also noted, “For racing buffs a conversion kit (gasoline engine and slicks) and remote-control throttle may also be ordered.” The conversion kit also included a pylon and spikes for attaching the pylon to an outdoor racing surface and a line to tether the car. The revolutionary advancement was the “remote control throttle” (not radio control). This consisted of a second line fed from the car, through the pylon and back to the “driver” to control the throttle of the .049 cubic inch, two-stroke gas engine. Remote control by radio was the next step.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Hunt |first1=George |title=Motorized Mustang GT |magazine=Life |date=November 19, 1965 |volume=59 |issue=21 |page=29}}</ref>[[File:1966 Ford Mustang Motorized Model Car by Wen-Mac 1-11 Scale.jpg|thumb|left|Wen-Mac/Testors 1966 Mustang 1:11 Scale]]

Apparently that next step was being developed during late 1965 and early 1966. Wen-Mac was purchased by Testors in 1966 and, in the April 1966 issue of Car Model magazine, coverage of the February 1966 Hobby Industry Trade show in Chicago included the Testors model company announcement of a radio-controlled, electric powered version of what was apparently the same basic 16” 1966 Mustang GT. It was mistakenly called a 1:9 scale model when actually, a 16" long 1966 Mustang is 1:11 scale.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Waters |first1=Mort |title=Hottest Items from the 1966 Hobby Trade Show |journal=Car Model |date=April 1966 |volume=4 |issue=9 |page=68}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Palmeter |first1=David |title=RCModels Testors First Mustang |url=https://palmeter.com/rcmodels-testors-first-mustang// |website=Thirteen Point Seven Billion |publisher=David Palmeter |access-date=2023-02-01}}</ref>

It was powered by electric motors and had rechargeable nickel cadmium batteries. To operate the car, a switch on the bottom of the chassis was first set to select Low Speed or High Speed. The transmitter had 3 channels, one connected to a push button that transmitted a simple “Go or Stop” signal to the drive motors. The other two channels were very early proportional controls, activated by a single stick; pushing it right activated the right turn channel and left for the left steering channel. The innovative drive system had two transverse motors, one for the right rear wheel and one for the left. Both motors powered the car when operated in a straight line but in a turn, the inside free-wheeled, creating a form of rear differential. Three different 27MHz channels were available to allow running 3 cars at a time. The price announced in 1966 for the complete, ready to run car was $69.95, a clear indication of the high price of radio control in what was originally a $4.95 battery electric car without radio control.

[[File:Image Title - ElGi Ferrari 250LM Radio Controlled Car IMG 5905.jpg|thumb|left|ElGi Ferrari 250LM 1:12 Scale Radio Controlled Car]]
- 1966 ElGi Ferrari 250LM - Another commercially viable RC car was available by mid-1966, produced by the Italian company El-Gi (Elettronica Giocattoli) from Reggio Emilia. Their first model, an electric 1:12 Ferrari 250 LM had a radio-controlled on-off motor function with no reverse. Steering had two on-off switches, turn radius was determined by how long the operator held down the appropriate left or right switch on the transmitter. An extensive article about the car and its driving characteristics appeared in the June 1966 Italian magazine Quattroruote.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Massucci |first1=Edoardo |title=Le "miniature" circoleranno? |journal=Quattroruote |date=June 1966 |volume=XI |issue=6 |page=194}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Palmeter |first1=David |title=RCModels 1966 ElGi Ferrari 250 LM |url=https://palmeter.com/rcmodels-1966-elgi-ferrari-250-lm/ |website=Thirteen Point Seven Billion |publisher=David Palmeter |access-date=2023-01-07}}</ref>

Concerning viable 1:8 scale race cars, information received by David Palmeter in a November, 2018 email from Mardave founder Wes Raynor stated: "When I started Mardave R/C Racing (in Leicester, England) in 1969/70 (not too sure which!) we claimed to be the first r/c (racing) car manufacturers in Europe. These cars were 1/8 scale, (proportional radio) I.C. engine powered cars."

In the early 1970s, several commercial products were created by small firms in the US. Most of these companies began as slot car companies and with the wane in popularity of that genre moved into the R/C field. Among these were Associated Electrics, Thorp, Dynamic, Taurus, Delta, and Scorpion. These primarily were 1/8 scale nitro-powered (then called gas) aluminium flat pan cars generally powered by a .21 cubic inch engine. The bodies for these cars were vacuum formed polycarbonate (the most popular made of Lexan). The most popular engine was the K&B Veco McCoy. The primary sanctioning body for races for these cars was Remotely Operated Auto Racers (ROAR). In 1973–74, Jerobee, a company based in Washington State, created their 1/12 nitro car using a Cox .049 engine. Over 54,000 were sold "Ready to Run" W/Radio control system of which 25K were made by EK Product od Texas and the balance by JoMac when they bought the company from Rocket Research Corp. Several aftermarket companies created parts for this car including clear Lexan bodies, heat sinks, and larger fuel tanks. This scale evolved into 1/12 scale electric racing when Associated Electrics created the RC12E in 1976–77. Jerobee became Jomac and created their own electric kit called the Lightning 2000 that won the "ROAR" National Championships in 1981& 82 for 6-Cell Modified and 82 the 6-Cell Production classes. The Lightning 2000 was designed by Don McKay and Jon Congdon.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

By the late 1970s, interests in 1/12 scale electric racing began to grow as 1/8 scale IC racers, the sole racing category at the time, needing to race throughout the winter as an alternative to their impractical IC cars began to race 1/12 cars, therefore a winter national series was developed. As a result, the series grew into popularity as a large number of scratch-built cars started to appear in these meetings. Again, electric r/c cars were enabled by one revolutionary development, that of the NiCad rechargeable battery. Prior to the mid-1970s, batteries were either heavy lead acid or expensive throw away dry cells. In 1976, the Japanese firm [[Tamiya Corporation|Tamiya]], which was renowned for their intricately detailed plastic model kits, released a series of elegant and highly detailed, but mechanically simple electric on-road car models that were sold as "suitable for radio control". Although rather expensive to purchase, the kits and radio systems sold rapidly. Tamiya soon began to produce more purpose-built remote-controlled model cars, and were the first to release off-road buggies featuring real suspension systems. It was this progression toward the off-road class that brought about much of the hobby's popularity, as it meant radio-controlled cars were no longer restricted to bitumen and smooth surfaces, but could be driven virtually anywhere. The first true Tamiya off-road vehicles were the [[Sand Scorcher]] and the [[Tamiya Rough Rider|Rough Rider]], both released in 1979, and both based on realistic dune buggy designs. Tamiya continued to produce off-road vehicles in increasing numbers, featuring working suspensions, more powerful motors, textured off-road rubber tires and various stylized "[[dune buggy]]" bodies. They also produced trucks, such as the [[Toyota Hilux|Toyota HiLux]] Pickup, that featured realistic three-speed gearboxes and leaf-spring suspension systems. All of these models were realistic, durable, easy to assemble, capable of being modified, and simple to repair. They were so popular that they could be credited with launching a boom in radio-controlled model cars in the early to mid 1980s, and provided the basis for today's radio-controlled car market. Popular Tamiya models included the Grasshopper and the Hornet dune buggies as well as the Blackfoot and Clodbuster [[monster truck]] models. The earliest Tamiya models, particularly the early off roaders, are now highly sought after by vintage R/C collectors and can fetch prices of up to US$3000 on internet auction sites if still in mint, unbuilt form. Acknowledging their continued popularity, several of the early kits have even been re-released by Tamiya during 2005–2007, with a few alterations.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

A British firm, [[Schumacher Racing]], was the first to develop an adjustable [[ball differential]] in 1980, which allowed nearly infinite tuning for various track conditions. At the time the majority of on-road cars had a solid axle, while off-road cars generally had a gear-type differential. [[Associated Electrics|Team Associated]] followed suit with the introduction of the [[RC100]] 1/8 scale gas on-road car, [[RC12]] 1/12 scale on-road electric car, and RC10 [[1:10 radio-controlled off-road buggy|1/10 scale off-road electric racing buggy]] in 1984 (see below). Team Losi followed with the introduction of the [[JRX2]] in 1988.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}