Above: The latest entry on Autocade, the DS Nº 8.
March 8 isn’t etched into my memory as much as October 20—the birthdays of Autocade and Lucire respectively.
Autocade, therefore, has just turned 17, and back in 2008, I certainly never expected it to exist as print yearbooks come the mid-2020s.
As mentioned, I had toyed with doing a print version and Keith Adams (AROnline, Parker’s) and I kicked around the idea in 2011. But the GFC was far from the right time to be launching specialist publications, and I didn’t feel the technology or sales’ potential were really there. The amount of work that would have gone in to our original idea—a big production featuring most of Autocade, showing lineages of currently available cars—would have been far too much. And I doubt I would get a decent return (if any) on such a production.
Never say never because if Amanda and I hadn’t brainstormed this in 2023, there wouldn’t be a yearbook. And in 2023, the technology was there, though we knew it would be a slow process: year one was always going to be a loss leader to establish the brand in a new medium. Now the wheels are in motion …
So here’s to the readers of Autocade whose visits tell us that there’s continued interest in the original reference, and here’s to the readers of Autocade Year of Cars whose purchases tell us that there’s added interest to see things grow. Thank you, too, to our endorsers: Stanley Moss, William Woollard, Giles Chapman, and the team at Octane, and to those readers who have left public reviews at Libriz. I’m looking forward to bringing you more in the years ahead—beyond the yearbooks!
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17 years?! what a ride! Autocade just keeps growing, and seeing it evolve into print is seriously cool. Can’t wait to see what’s next!