Body: <p>When thinking back, it seems that most of the time, Lego Town's racing subtheme featured a so-called "dragster" - a racing car with an elongated front.</p>
  
  <p>This impression is corroborated by checking the actual sets: <a href="http://brickset.com/sets?query=dragster" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Brickset list</a></p>
  
  <p>While I did not check for how long each of these "dragster" sets was produced/sold, if we assume a medium set lifespan (in the catalogue) of some 3 years, the succession of release years (1983, 1986, 1989, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2017) indicates at least until the beginning of the 21st century, there was at least one dragster set available at almost any time.</p>
  
  <p>Now, I am not a car racing buff at all, so maybe I am missing something. Yet, while I have seen my share of car racing scenes on TV, and plenty of racing cars in museums of technology, I do not think I have ever encountered a "dragster" in real life. Therefore, my <em>perception</em> is that in the real world, dragsters must be an extremely exotic kind of vehicle.</p>
  
  <p><strong>Is there any known reason for why dragsters seem to be so overrepresented in Lego's town sets compared to other elements of the real world?</strong> (Or is it indeed my perception that is skewed, because dragster are indeed common sights a part of this planet's car racing subculture, and Lego is simply replicating that part of the world?)</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-03-31T14:35:00.970Z
Comments.Text: If you want to find an ant, visit an art hill. Hang around professional drag strips and you'll see plenty of dragsters. They are not that exotic, having been around since the 1950s. But that is a super-expensive type of racing so you might not see too many at smaller drag strips.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Raindog
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-03-31T15:13:18.380Z
Comments.Text: Presumably they were popular with kids in their market research? They're very [swooshable](http://www.brickwiki.info/wiki/Swooshable). Three of these sets have either a wind-back motor or manual launch system, an extra gimmick to make these sets more attrative, it's possible dragsters were chosen as they are more stable at high speed and suited to be launched?
Comments.UserDisplayName: Ambo100
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-03-31T15:22:41.987Z
Comments.Text: Drag racing is a popular sport all over the world. I think OP will find the Wikipedia page on drag racing very interesting as it goes through the history of drag racing on every continent. The bottom line is this: "The history of automobiles and motorcycles being used for drag racing is nearly as long as the history of motorized vehicles themselves, and has taken the form of both illegal street racing, and as an organized and regulated motorsport." Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_racing
Comments.UserDisplayName: TheBrickBlogger
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-03-31T20:10:08.163Z
Comments.Text: @Ambo100: How is this opinion-based? I am not asking for what people think could be reasons. I am asking for the concrete, actual reason.
Comments.UserDisplayName: O. R. Mapper
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-03-31T20:14:51.953Z
Comments.Text: @TheBrickBlogger: "The history of automobiles and motorcycles being used for drag racing" - that seems to cover a considerably wider range of vehicles than the specific kind of "dragster" apparently prevalent in Lego sets.
Comments.UserDisplayName: O. R. Mapper
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-03-31T20:30:33.293Z
Comments.Text: It is unlikely that you will receive a concrete reason without contacting TLG directly. Any answers you receive can only be based on theories and opinions. These types of questions are better suited to a forum or chat room.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Ambo100
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-03-31T20:41:12.193Z
Comments.Text: @Ambo100: This type of questions ("what reasoning was at work behind the scenes") is commonplace e.g. on [scifi.se]. Answers typically quote statements by people involved in the design process of the product, from interviews, books, or other published sources. I see absolutely no reason why it should be any different with questions about design decisions for Lego products. On top of that, note that a statement by someone behind the scenes is not even necessary, as it seems there *is* a credible real-world example for the sets I asked about - which is a valid, verifiable answer, too.
Comments.UserDisplayName: O. R. Mapper
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-04-01T22:04:54.100Z
Comments.Text: This isn't really SF&F, and both site and community cultures vary. It could be as simple as "Kids love dragsters and they are simple to build" or they sell well.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Journeyman Geek
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-04-04T16:45:38.887Z
Comments.Text: @ZaphBenDuguid: I already explained how such an answer does not have to come directly from TLG without being mere speculation. Anyway, to be fair, SO is not about software recommendations, so asking about software recommendations would indeed be off-topic there. LEGO Answers, on the other hand, *is* precisely about LEGO.
Comments.UserDisplayName: O. R. Mapper
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2017-04-07T07:38:29.357Z
Comments.Text: I'm not sure how we can give "the concrete, actual answer" unless we have access to TLGs research or marketing teams to know why they have found dragsters so marketable. They do like them though, LEGOLand Windsor includes a drag strip in its Miniland, and my kid had the creator set that builds a bike, dragster and something else and the dragster is still complete. My other thought was that steering is tricky at 4-6 studs, and dragsters don't steer, so they suit the medium well.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Zhaph - Ben Duguid
Tags: <history><city>
Title: What is TLC's (earlier?) "obsession" with dragsters about?
UserDisplayName: O. R. Mapper
ThreadText: # What is TLC's (earlier?) "obsession" with dragsters about?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2017-03-31)
  
  When thinking back, it seems that most of the time, Lego Town's racing subtheme featured a so-called "dragster" - a racing car with an elongated front.
  
  This impression is corroborated by checking the actual sets: [Brickset list](http://brickset.com/sets?query=dragster)
  
  While I did not check for how long each of these "dragster" sets was produced/sold, if we assume a medium set lifespan (in the catalogue) of some 3 years, the succession of release years (1983, 1986, 1989, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2017) indicates at least until the beginning of the 21st century, there was at least one dragster set available at almost any time.
  
  Now, I am not a car racing buff at all, so maybe I am missing something. Yet, while I have seen my share of car racing scenes on TV, and plenty of racing cars in museums of technology, I do not think I have ever encountered a "dragster" in real life. Therefore, my *perception* is that in the real world, dragsters must be an extremely exotic kind of vehicle.
  
  **Is there any known reason for why dragsters seem to be so overrepresented in Lego's town sets compared to other elements of the real world?** (Or is it indeed my perception that is skewed, because dragster are indeed common sights a part of this planet's car racing subculture, and Lego is simply replicating that part of the world?)
  
  **Tags:** history, city
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: If you want to find an ant, visit an art hill. Hang around professional drag strips and you'll see plenty of dragsters. They are not that exotic, having been around since the 1950s. But that is a super-expensive type of racing so you might not see too many at smaller drag strips.  
  > **username_2**: Presumably they were popular with kids in their market research? They're very [swooshable](http://www.brickwiki.info/wiki/Swooshable). Three of these sets have either a wind-back motor or manual launch system, an extra gimmick to make these sets more attrative, it's possible dragsters were chosen as they are more stable at high speed and suited to be launched?  
  > **username_3**: Drag racing is a popular sport all over the world. I think OP will find the Wikipedia page on drag racing very interesting as it goes through the history of drag racing on every continent. The bottom line is this: "The history of automobiles and motorcycles being used for drag racing is nearly as long as the history of motorized vehicles themselves, and has taken the form of both illegal street racing, and as an organized and regulated motorsport." Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_racing  
  > **username_0**: @Ambo100: How is this opinion-based? I am not asking for what people think could be reasons. I am asking for the concrete, actual reason.  
  > **username_0**: @TheBrickBlogger: "The history of automobiles and motorcycles being used for drag racing" - that seems to cover a considerably wider range of vehicles than the specific kind of "dragster" apparently prevalent in Lego sets.  
  > **username_2**: It is unlikely that you will receive a concrete reason without contacting TLG directly. Any answers you receive can only be based on theories and opinions. These types of questions are better suited to a forum or chat room.  
  > **username_0**: @Ambo100: This type of questions ("what reasoning was at work behind the scenes") is commonplace e.g. on [scifi.se]. Answers typically quote statements by people involved in the design process of the product, from interviews, books, or other published sources. I see absolutely no reason why it should be any different with questions about design decisions for Lego products. On top of that, note that a statement by someone behind the scenes is not even necessary, as it seems there *is* a credible real-world example for the sets I asked about - which is a valid, verifiable answer, too.  
  > **username_4**: This isn't really SF&F, and both site and community cultures vary. It could be as simple as "Kids love dragsters and they are simple to build" or they sell well.  
  > **username_0**: @ZaphBenDuguid: I already explained how such an answer does not have to come directly from TLG without being mere speculation. Anyway, to be fair, SO is not about software recommendations, so asking about software recommendations would indeed be off-topic there. LEGO Answers, on the other hand, *is* precisely about LEGO.  
  > **username_5**: I'm not sure how we can give "the concrete, actual answer" unless we have access to TLGs research or marketing teams to know why they have found dragsters so marketable. They do like them though, LEGOLand Windsor includes a drag strip in its Miniland, and my kid had the creator set that builds a bike, dragster and something else and the dragster is still complete. My other thought was that steering is tricky at 4-6 studs, and dragsters don't steer, so they suit the medium well.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 0 answers
  
  