69 replies to this topic

[rmhorton]

Courtesy of a Peter Windsor tweet Autocourse has its 1971 edition online

http://edition.pages...u...e5490&skip=

Some special memories there for many of us I’m sure.

Roger

[David McKinney]

Let's hope it's the first of many

[Allen Brown]

That's the value of my collection of Autocourse just slashed by 90%

[john winfield]

That's the value of my collection of Autocourse just slashed by 90%

I'll take them off your hands Allen - save you a trip to the dump!

I wonder whether the digitization will really have any impact on the value of hard copies. It may affect prices very little if the possession of, and the delight of handling, a series of hard copy annuals is more important to collectors than access to data within. If the 1971/2 edition begins to flood the market I'll know I was wrong.

[Allen Brown]

Of course if they are all digitised then I could sell my collection and save myself the constant walking backwards and forwards to that shelf. But I never sold my Motor Sport collection - did their values go down when MS was digitised?

[rallen]

WOW this is brilliant! do you know if any more are likely? Whilst obviously you can't beat the books, they are so expensive that I will never have a chance to read them so some of us wont have access to all that history, having Autocourse digitized would be wonderful. Also they have done a great job, I was very disapointed with the quality of the Motor Sport digital archive, I thought it was poorly done. This is splendid!

[RA Historian]

As a rule I do not collect autographs. But I do make a point of getting a driver and/or author to autograph his book. Hence, I have a dozen Autocourse annuals autographed by the World Champion of that year. Autograph in a book is much better than on a CD, IMO. My collection of Automobile Year/Autocourse is unbroken from 1955 to the present. and I do not intend to stop now.
Tom

[rallen]

As a rule I do not collect autographs. But I do make a point of getting a driver and/or author to autograph his book. Hence, I have a dozen Autocourse annuals autographed by the World Champion of that year. Autograph in a book is much better than on a CD, IMO. My collection of Automobile Year/Autocourse is unbroken from 1955 to the present. and I do not intend to stop now.
Tom

I don't think anyone is suggesting this is a replacement or superiour to the book, but for people that wern't around to get them first time round or for people on a lower income who have an interest in Motorsport and otherwise wouldn't be able to read them.

I supose they are handy for researchers too or people on the move or with limited space or nagging wifes!

[dank]

Is 1971 the only one to have been 'digitised' thus far?

[chrisj]

That's fantastic. I actually was trying to buy a copy last week, and when that was unsuccessful, tried to get one through inter-library loan.

[Vitesse2]

Is 1971 the only one to have been 'digitised' thus far?

I was going to say yes, but I just checked on the Archive tab on the left of the screen and 1974 has appeared some time in the last couple of hours.

Edit: or part of it anyway (only pp 1-102)

Edited by Vitesse2, 12 July 2011 - 15:48.

[USA Diligence]

I am glad to hear other archives are being digitized. I have several full runs of various racing magazines that have been digitized AND run through an OCR (optical character recognition program) which allows for keyword searching. This feature saves time and money when researching a driver, venue or marque. Don't misunderstand, I still have the books and magazines, but believe this is the way of the future.

Are the Motor Sport and Autocourse digitizations searchable by keyword?

[fausto]

I am glad to hear other archives are being digitized. I have several full runs of various racing magazines that have been digitized AND run through an OCR (optical character recognition program) which allows for keyword searching. This feature saves time and money when researching a driver, venue or marque. Don't misunderstand, I still have the books and magazines, but believe this is the way of the future.

Are the Motor Sport and Autocourse digitizations searchable by keyword?

Motorsport is, yes!

[dank]

Looks as though the whole of 1974 has now been plonked online. Woo.

[rallen]

Never realised how stunning the earlier Autocourses are! I have only seen a few from the late 80's and early 90's. They are magnificent, thanks for the thread

[RA Historian]

Never realised how stunning the earlier Autocourses are!

In a number of ways I believe that they actually are superior to today's offerings. 'Back then' most pictures were black and white instead of all color. Now the color photos are great, but there is a certain 'sameness' about them. That is, car in the pit, car on the track, etc. In the '60s and '70s the photos were of a greater variety, and featured more than just the cars. For example, I recall pictures from Kyalami of all the drivers and their girl friends/wives lolling about the pool. Topless crumpet on yachts at Monte Carlo. Drivers playing cricket at Silverstone, and so on. A little looser and informal, as it were.

Autocourse in the last decade or more has fallen into a bit of a rut. That is, the format is the same year after year. Back then you did not know quite what to expect, as formats changed, layouts changed, and the feature articles changed. Mind you, I am not knocking today's Autocourse, heaven knows as I lay out the money each fall to order the book, but compared to early years it is a bit more formal now.

Am I the only one who sees it this way, or am I all wet?

Tom

Edited by RA Historian, 12 July 2011 - 20:23.

[D-Type]

Is there a way I can download this to my hard drive? Or is that a breach of copyright?

[EcosseF1]

This is great! There goes the rest of the day...

[rallen]

If these were made available commercially (legally by the copy write owner) I am sure lots of people would buy them, I for one would love to have the opportunity to purchase them.

Edited by rallen, 12 July 2011 - 21:43.

[macoran]

Is there a way I can download this to my hard drive? Or is that a breach of copyright?

doesn't look like it, not even a printable version for a comfy read. So I'll spend my time doing somewhat else.

[Alan Cox]

The lap charts were always something to pore over - note the change from the comprehensive 1971 version, complete with individual lap times, to the rather more crude, handwritten version in the 1974 edition.

[john winfield]

The lap charts were always something to pore over - note the change from the comprehensive 1971 version, complete with individual lap times, to the rather more crude, handwritten version in the 1974 edition.

I used to love those lap times! Individual laps and cumulative race time weren't they? You could see races develop, see Rindt catching Brabham at Monaco, wonder at the time made up by Gethin as he caught the leading group at Monza. Terrific! Well, I liked them. I think the times were hand written by David Phipps weren't they, or perhaps I have that wrong? I seem to remember that Mike Kettlewell's failing eyesight may have been a factor in their disappearance.

Edited by john winfield, 12 July 2011 - 22:18.

[DN5]

Really enjoyed reading the 71 edition as that pre dates all of mine.

The 1974 edition was familar for the reason that is my earliest one (& the first of many).

Hope other editions get added.

Geoff

[Option1]

Hmmm link doesn't seem to be working for me,sadly.

Neil

[J. Scott Morris]

It certainly looks as if the link is broken. Tried to use it again and it no longer works. Can anyone refresh the link?
--Scott Morris; Simcoe, Ontario, Canada

[Murl]

http://edition.pages...u...;skip=&p=70

Try this link...

[roger_valentine]

This ought to be the most exciting news ever on TNF. I am one of those "low income" people who can never afford the fantastic prices early Autocourses sell for, and 1971 & 74 are two (of the many) that I don't have.

So why am I only slightly excited?

Well, e-books in general are a bit of a pain to read, and then there is the "format war". Why didn't they make this available in Kindle format, or at least make it easily downloadable? As it is, I don't feel as if I "own" a copy - I am just allowed to look at it for as long as the publishers maintain the website (and don't turn it into "pay per view").

And who exactly are the publishers? Is this an official site (there is no mention of it on the Autocourse site) or a bootleg? I notice that most of the adverts are clickable (a surprise bonus which these companies could hardly have expected when they paid for the adverts 40 years ago, but the Autocourse logo itself doesn't work).

But, these niggles aside, I really am overjoyed to read these two Autocourses, and hope there will be many more.

The Flash format works well, zoooming is easy, page turning not quite as intuitive as other e-book formats, and there is an irritating blurr whenever you half-click on a page.

If you really want to download, I'm sure someone will discover a way (temporary internet files??), or you can always email "clippings" to yourself (one page at a time, but a useful way to print the lap charts)

Edited by roger_valentine, 14 July 2011 - 10:22.

[arttidesco]

Amazing news many more hours of happy reading ahead thanks for posting the link

[Murl]

This ought to be the most exciting news ever on TNF. I am one of those "low income" people who can never afford the fantastic prices early Autocourses sell for, and 1971 & 74 are two (of the many) that I don't have.

So why am I only slightly excited?

Well, e-books in general are a bit of a pain to read, and then there is the "format war". Why didn't they make this vailable in Kindle format, or at least make it easily downloadable? As it is, I don't feel as if I "own" a copy - I am just alllowed to look at it for as long as the publishers maintain the website (and don't turn it into "pay per view").

And who exactly are the publishers? Is this an official site (there is no mention of it on the Autocourse site) or a bootleg? I notice that most of the adverts are clickable (a surprise bonus which these companies could hardly have expected when they paid for the adverts 40 years ago, but the Autocourse logo itself doesn't work).

But, these niggles aside, I really am overjoyed to read these two Autocourses, and hope there will be many more.

The Flash format works well, zoooming is easy, page turning not quite as intuitive as other e-book formats, and there is an irritating blurr whenever you half-click on a page.

If you really want to download, I'm sure someone will discover a way (temporary internet files??), or you can always email "clippings" to yourself (one page at a time, but a useful way to print the lap charts)

Faststone capture (or snipping tool if you have win7) lets you take screenshots. Time consuming, but as you say, they will probably be gone before you can say WOW, that is cool.

Do you have a link to the 1974 one?

[Vitesse2]

Click on the Archive tab on the left of the screen.

[Murl]

Click on the Archive tab on the left of the screen.

(DOH)

[Vitesse2]

Murl's link in post 26 still works.

[Alan Cox]

Murl's link in post 26 still works.

Thanks for that. Silly me.

[FLB]

This ought to be the most exciting news ever on TNF. I am one of those "low income" people who can never afford the fantastic prices early Autocourses sell for, and 1971 & 74 are two (of the many) that I don't have.

But, these niggles aside, I really am overjoyed to read these two Autocourses, and hope there will be many more.

The Flash format works well, zoooming is easy, page turning not quite as intuitive as other e-book formats, and there is an irritating blurr whenever you half-click on a page.

If you really want to download, I'm sure someone will discover a way (temporary internet files??), or you can always email "clippings" to yourself (one page at a time, but a useful way to print the lap charts)

It's not only that.

I've been terrified to even touch my 1994 edition (the one with Senna's photo on the cover) since I've learnt of its replacement value!

[Julian Roberts]

It's not only that.

I've been terrified to even touch my 1994 edition (the one with Senna's photo on the cover) since I've learnt of its replacement value!

Have another look on Ebay; so many people have traded them in the last few years the value has dropped dramatically.

If you have a seat handy and a strong heart, take a look a this :-

http://cgi.ebay.co.u...d#ht_500wt_1156

[Option1]

http://edition.pages...u...;skip=&p=70

Try this link...

Thanks Murl!

Neil

[rallen]

The 1976 one is on now!

somebody somewhere must know more about this site and who is doing it?

[COUGAR508]

Thanks to the guys who have posted the links. I only have a couple of Autocourses myself (from the early 90s), and it is noticeable how the level of detail and quality was similar back in the 70s.

[uffen]

I recall some years ago that the Autocourse publisher at the time (Haymarket?) would not reprint older volumes becuase it would destroy the value of the older volumes. Now we have digital reprinting.
I agree that it is not as good as a hard copy, but it does open the pages for the bookless among us.

[Red Socks]

I recall some years ago that the Autocourse publisher at the time (Haymarket?) would not reprint older volumes becuase it would destroy the value of the older volumes. Now we have digital reprinting.
I agree that it is not as good as a hard copy, but it does open the pages for the bookless among us.

I think that the publishers of Autocourse have changed so many times over the years that the original copyright owners are long gone, plus the current ones don't have any original publications. Thus digitising them hurts no one-not even us owners of the hard copy because the digital one is not one iota of the real thing.

[rallen]

I recall some years ago that the Autocourse publisher at the time (Haymarket?) would not reprint older volumes becuase it would destroy the value of the older volumes. Now we have digital reprinting.
I agree that it is not as good as a hard copy, but it does open the pages for the bookless among us.

Interesting, not sure I understand their policy - Haymarket would get nothing from second hand copies of Autocourse or books sold on ebay.

[Mig007]

I can't open the link now.

[stevew01]

I have just checked the autocourse.com site and there are details of the digitised versions of autocourse - they have 1971, 1974, 1976 and 2010 available. The site says there are more to come.

They can be downloaded for a cost of about GBP20 each. I checked the free sample preview and the flash versions are from pagesuite.com which is where they were previously. Unfortunately the free sample preview is only about 20 pages instead of the full books that were previously viewable.

Steve

[Michael Ferner]

No PDFs? I find flash very annoying...

[rallen]

You can get Autocourse 1972-1976 digitised now

http://www.autocours...e-ebook-bundle/

[Michael Ferner]

That website is not very userfriendly , I was ready to throw in the towel "To hell with this - dann eben nicht!" when it finally and unexpectedly worked out fine at the last minute, so to speak. Also, why do I have to register and order seperately at the Motocourse site??? Some companies seem hell-bent on NOT doing any business theses days...

[Geza Sury]

I still prefer printed books rather than this new e-book format. The prices of the 70s Autocourse books seem to drop somewhat. I was able to buy the 1973 edition for 120 British pounds on Ebay, which is more or less affordable. Slowly, but surely I will try to collect all the annuals. By the time I retire, hopefully I will own the entire collection. However good is an e-book, it can't be compared with a real one. Maybe I'm a bit old fashioned, though.

[RA Historian]

I agree with you completely, Geza Sury. I want to hold something in my hand, and I do not mean a kindle. I want to be able to go to my bookshelf and pull the book out, and to peruse it at my leisure. I do not want to have to turn something on and pull something up, then go through the maddening exercise of scrolling back and forth, up and down, trying to read something this way. Drives me nuts. Part of the enjoyment of reading is the tactile sensation of holding a good book or magazine in one's hands, being able to put it down and pick it up whenever, of being able to have it available for ready reference, and so on. I will never go to e books!

 

RE Autocourse/Automobile Year. I had the good fortune of buying my first in 1967 and every year since as a matter of habit. I have been able to fill in the gaps prior to 1967 over the past 15 years with some astute purchases at old bookstores, memorabilia meets, and e bay to the point where I have every copy from 1955 to the present in my library. I know you are thinking it, so I will say it here: "I am a lucky sonofagun!"

[DN5]

Some more seem to be available, specifically a 66-70 bundle  I couldn't resist.

 

Geoff

[275 GTB-4]

Of course if they are all digitised then I could sell my collection and save myself the constant walking backwards and forwards to that shelf. But I never sold my Motor Sport collection - did their values go down when MS was digitised?

Don't be too hasty getting rid of your hard-copy versions...wait till you check how faithful the OCR scanning has been performed....oftentimes, the cheapest solution is chosen with cheap output