Naushad is right. That does make me wonder, though...will kids today consider the Traxxas Slash as a "vintage" collectible 20 years from now? Yuk!
On the other hand, you could make an argument for r/c being an "inherited" taste, for lack of a better term. Young boys (some girls too, but let's be honest: cars are mostly a boy thing) learn a love of cars usually from their fathers. As part of that, they come to appreciate cars from their father's generation. Maybe not as much as their fathers do, but it is there and it can help to preserve the value of those older cars beyond them being rare. "Oh my dad had a '64 Chevelle and so I want one to remind me of him." This can extend to r/c for the fraction of hobbyists who have children that they indoctrinate into the hobby. If/when I have kids, they will learn to appreciate Daddy's YZ10 collection and how they are an homage to the greatest r/c racer ever (Masami).
Personally, I do not treat my r/c acquisitions as an investment, for the most part at least. Although, I do pick up rare examples that meet my tastes in part because of the rarity, but I do not personally equate that with monetary value. For example, I have a NIB '94 YZ10 that cost me a pretty penny, and I will never assemble it or sell it to anyone. Ever. Forever ever. But that's only because I want to preserve the rarity (or cool factor or whatever you want to call it) of a NIB '94 YZ10, regardless of what the street price is or will be in the future.
There is a point where collecting turns into hoarding, though. Gamespot.com actually had an excellent piece on the psychology of hoarding a few months ago. A very interesting video if you can find it and watch it...
Going back to the original questions, though, there will always be people who can afford to buy stuff and not use them. If I had real money as a kid, I would probably have spent it on the following, in no particular order:
Tamiya Porsche 959
Tamiya Avante/Egress
RC10 World's Car
Yokomo YZ10 (any and all of them)
Tamiya Blackfoot with Thorp drivetrain conversion
Tamiya Astute/Super Astute/Dyna Storm
Tamiya Solar Eagle
HPI Super F1
...plus a few others I'm sure...
Not surprisingly, I have most of these now...
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