Page Two!

Let's meet the people that HPI has brought to the Chicago Hobby Show!

Tatsuro Watanabe, Owner of HPI RacingTatsuro Watanabe is the President and owner of HPI Racing, and deserves all the credit for making HPI what it is today. Just a few years ago, HPI was making aluminum wheel buttons and nylon wheels for pan cars, and now we are one of the fastest-growing R/C car company in the world! HPI has been around since 1986 and has seen phenomenal growth due to Tatsuro's guidance and vision.
Shawn Ireland is HPI's USA General Manager, and he is here helping David Kouche in sales meetings and demonstrating the new cars to the magazine editors that always seem to be coming by. Shawn oversees licensing issues and coordinating business plans with HPI Japan and HPI Europe.
Jason Dearden handles all the duties at HPI Europe as General Manager in our offices in the United Kingdom. Jason talks with all of HPI's distributors from Europe, including our partners in Germany, France, Spain and other continental countries. 
Matsuhiro Ohe is HPI Japan's General Manager, and is here to see how the US handles the R/C hobby business. Many distributors from Asia and Japan are here, and "Mr. Ohe" discusses HPI's new products with them daily. Ohe just arrived in the US after the Tokyo Hobby Show last week, so we hope he's getting over his jet lag!
David Kouche is HPI USA's Sales Manager, and has done a wonderful job expanding the sales envelope for HPI USA in North and South America, as well as Australia and New Zealand. David is usually hard to find during the show, since he's in meetings most of the day in one of our two conference rooms!
Akira Kogawa heads HPI's engineering department as Chief Designer. He oversees all the designs of parts and kits with engineers in the USA and Japan, and approves every single thing that makes it to hobby store shelves. Ito is Akira's assistant (Ito designed the beginnings of the Pro 2), but couldn't make it because of his commitment to the Nitro RS4 MT project.
Kent Clausen handles all of the marketing duties for HPI as our Graphics and Marketing Manager. Lots of people recognize Kent from his days as an oval national champion and IFMAR World Champion, and many younger racers want to meet Kent as well, just from discussing things with him on our R/C Forum.
Steve Baker is HPI's Customer Service Lead Tech and is able to handle just about any question on any car that is thrown at him! Steve is also familiar with other cars and trucks on the market and is able to provide a good comparison against our cars for customers who want to know the specifics.
Thad Garner is another Customer Service Tech and takes care of most of the engine repairs that come in. Thad also races his car every week against the best sedan drivers in Southern California and always does very well for a racer that doesn't practice three or four times a week!
Troy Lyman recently started with HPI as a Customer Service Tech and has been helping Steve and Thad with customer questions and calls. Troy is also involved in future projects that HPI will be undertaking.
Bill Martinez is HPI's Packaging Supervisor and is helping out with customer and dealer questions. Bill is another HPI factory team driver and does very well with his Pro 2 at the various outdoor parking lot races in Southern California.
Frank McKinney is HPI's Webmaster and Ken'ts Marketing Assistant. He's working on the web page during the day and uploading the changes in the evening. He races too.

 

More Parts and New Bodies!

2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Stock Car
As soon as we released the Ford Taurus Stock Car, the first thing we heard was, "Okay, now where's the Chevy?" As soon as the shape of the production car was finalized, stock car builders started work in the windtunnels, and we got to work on the car mold! Here is the final result, the Y2K Monte Carlo! It will fit on our Nitro RS4 cars and on superspeedway pan cars.
Audi TT
This is a car that has been near the top of our requests list for some time. The new TT from Audi has proven to be a unique car in an industry of lookalike vehicles, and the sportiness and handling of the real car led us to make a wide (200mm) version for your wide touring car!

Peugeot 406 Coupe
The new Peugeot coupe that is sweeping across Europe is now here in America! At least, for 190mm wide 1/10 scale touring cars. This body features modern a modern Pininfarina design in a unique package. You can use it without a wing and it will still look great, because the wing uses its own posts. Nothing sticks up out of the trunk lid to spoil the lines.

 

Graphite Diff Outdrives
Okay, racers! Less than half the weight of the stock steel outdrives. The snap-on support rings prevent expansion without needing glue. Locking D-rings so you don't need to glue standard diff rings. Perfect replacement for stock or modified racers! These will be available in packages by themselves, and with a full ball diff set (pulley, diff balls, thrust bearing assembly, etc.).

 

Purple Anodized Aluminum Parts
The Center Bulkhead for the RS4 Pro 2 has been available for some time already, and now we have a purple aluminum part for Nitro RS4 owners! This new aluminum brake block will help dissipate heat, will never develop slop, but most importantly it just looks cool!!

Thanks for everyone that visited! We had a bunch of fun talking with our customers and fans!