Haynes Publishing up for sale? The

[stevejgreen]

Could this be the end of a 60 year empire. I’m pretty sure that we all own two or more of these publications.

Presumably the museum will be safe, but will they lose an income stream?

Time will tell!

[milliemarlin]

Re: Haynes Publishing up for sale? The

I have 9. I bet that's not the most. I have been known to read them in preferance to a novel.

I'd go halves with you Steve if someone is prepared to lend me the money.
Paul

[stevejgreen]

Re: Haynes Publishing up for sale? The

I have 9. I bet that's not the most. I have been known to read them in preferance to a novel.

I'd go halves with you Steve if someone is prepared to lend me the money.
Paul

If it’s not your money, I would want to know who the sleeping partner is.

[HairyDave]

Re: Haynes Publishing up for sale? The

I have a stack of them, but I must say I don't like the new ones as much as the old hardback ones. The new thinner cheaper (?) paper and paperback don't seem as easy to understand. Or maybe I just don't understand the more modern cars.

[stevejgreen]

Re: Haynes Publishing up for sale? The

I have a stack of them, but I must say I don't like the new ones as much as the old hardback ones. The new thinner cheaper (?) paper and paperback don't seem as easy to understand. Or maybe I just don't understand the more modern cars.

I have far more than two! One for every Model of car that I have owned (often none published though) and several for different models with a similar pedigree that may have used a similar engine/gearbox combination.
if I got them all out, probably a 1.2m shelf would be needed.

[Alan c]

Re: Haynes Publishing up for sale? The

suspect increased technology of cars, you tube and www killing the demand

[HairyDave]

Re: Haynes Publishing up for sale? The

The technology of modern cars does it for me. I have the manual for our 58 Citroen Berlingo. When the heater fan stopped I looked at the manual. Then rang an auto electrician. He took a load of dash panels off and finally found a faulty relay. I couldn't believe the wires in there. An hours labour and a big relay, warm again. I'm looking for a Rickman Ranger or Dutton Sierra or similar that I can fix and that keeps my wife warm. Modern manuals just show how old I am.

[stevejgreen]

Re: Haynes Publishing up for sale? The

The technology of modern cars does it for me. I have the manual for our 58 Citroen Berlingo. When the heater fan stopped I looked at the manual. Then rang an auto electrician. He took a load of dash panels off and finally found a faulty relay. I couldn't believe the wires in there. An hours labour and a big relay, warm again. I'm looking for a Rickman Ranger or Dutton Sierra or similar that I can fix and that keeps my wife warm. Modern manuals just show how old I am.

Electronics in cars essentially started in 1970 with the advent of emissions legislation. Not a bad thing in my mind as it fundamentally lowers fuel consumption and the pressure on my wallet.
The same progression has happened inexorably in just about every area, and it has generally been welcomed, remember the days of having to get out of your chair to change the TV channel!
Today with the application of wifi almost everything can be connected together, no bad thing, I don’t need a large tower computer to type my emails, I use my phone or iPad wherever I am. I am quite happy with the technology, it allows me to do things that would have been impossible in 1970.

[kahawi]

Re: Haynes Publishing and the increase of Vehicle electronics

Today with the application of Wi-Fi almost everything can be connected together, no bad thing, I don’t need a large tower computer to type my emails, I use my phone or iPad wherever I am. I am quite happy with the technology, it allows me to do things that would have been impossible in 1970.

I agree that modern electronics have vastly improved life, so many advances have helped medicine etc., not always obvious to us. My concern, is the idea that simply “Because we can - We should”, I’m thinking easy access to drones, lasers and intrusive mobile phone apps that I can’t see the justification/need for?

My worry is the all-electric car, witness those folk who have been locked inside a sinking Merc, because the doors cannot be opened once the wet gets in and I’m really not happy about electric handbrakes for the same reason, wasn’t the whole idea a failsafe backup means of stopping the vehicle? (Albeit slowly)!

Having been brought up through the ages of computing, perhaps I’m just paranoid about seeing the message “General Failure reading Hard-Disk” at 70Mph on the ‘Smart M4’ one day?

[stevejgreen]

Re: Haynes Publishing and the increase of Vehicle electronics

I agree that modern electronics have vastly improved life, so many advances have helped medicine etc., not always obvious to us. My concern, is the idea that simply “Because we can - We should”, I’m thinking easy access to drones, lasers and intrusive mobile phone apps that I can’t see the justification/need for?

My worry is the all-electric car, witness those folk who have been locked inside a sinking Merc, because the doors cannot be opened once the wet gets in and I’m really not happy about electric handbrakes for the same reason, wasn’t the whole idea a failsafe backup means of stopping the vehicle? (Albeit slowly)!

Having been brought up through the ages of computing, perhaps I’m just paranoid about seeing the message “General Failure reading Hard-Disk” at 70Mph on the ‘Smart M4’ one day?

Agreed with reservations. Air travel today is electronics based and the accident rate is substantially lower.
Better electronics, monitoring braking systems etc. etc, can detect issues before they become safety critical.

I remember watching several early 70’s cars losing front wheels due to bad maintenance, a sensor recording bearing temperatures could save a catastrophic incident.

[HairyDave]

Re: Haynes Publishing and the increase of Vehicle electronics

The idea of making things idiot-proof just leads to the development of bigger idiots. People are both risk averse and unwilling to accept responsibility for their own actions. How many people check their oil daily, even weekly? My car has a sign on the das that says 'Oil Ok'. On the Marlin the oil and water are checked every day. Also, there is the up-coming danger of hacking of car computers. For my toy it is KISS. Also old copies of Haynes manuals.

[stevejgreen]

Re: Haynes Publishing and the increase of Vehicle electronics

The idea of making things idiot-proof just leads to the development of bigger idiots. People are both risk averse and unwilling to accept responsibility for their own actions. How many people check their oil daily, even weekly? My car has a sign on the das that says 'Oil Ok'. On the Marlin the oil and water are checked every day. Also, there is the up-coming danger of hacking of car computers. For my toy it is KISS. Also old copies of Haynes manuals.

Strange indeed that with the advent of the health and safety at work act 1974 which attempted to make the workplace idiot proof, actually succeeded in reducing deaths and injuries, and not as you suggest more bigger idiots. Perhaps they had already received their personal Darwin Award.

As for checking oil and water, my bike and Mercedes do both automatically on turning on the ignition, along with a plethora of other both significant and insignificant other checks.
Of course the sensors could fail, but most electronics can detect a sensor failure as well. Or for example over temperature, a consequence of low levels, before a critical point is reached.
If you are having to check and top up levels on a daily basis, it suggests that there is some latent fault that has not been addressed.
We are well past the age of steam when a locomotive engineer would spend an hour clambering over his engine topping up individual oil levels etc before leaving the engine sheds.

But we are now well off topic, it would be a shame if a bit of history, the Haynes manuals, were to disappear, they were in their time an essential for the home mechanic, although at times there were glaring errors and omissions. We have probably all skipped past the pages dealing with spark plugs and body repairs that were common to pretty much every vehicle when we got our third manual.

[chris_cussen]

Re: Haynes Publishing up for sale? The

Best bit I ever had in a Haynes manual was an early one for a Mini:
"Carefully withdraw the synchro hub"
PING!
<<new paragraph>>
"Be careful not to lose the three springs and ball bearings......"
OH SHIT: The floor is covered in wood shavings

[HairyDave]

Re: Haynes Publishing up for sale? The

Chris, Bin there dun that, still do. Yes, Steve, we do bypass the beginnings, but for some people that will be their first (of many?) Manual and in 50 yrs a grandchild will ask 'Grandad what's a spark plug? When the Berlingo went to have the heater blower sorted (forum passim) the sparks looked on a computer for the info he needed, not a book!

[stevejgreen]

Re: Haynes Publishing up for sale? The

When the Berlingo went to have the heater blower sorted (forum passim) the sparks looked on a computer for the info he needed, not a book!

The value of the Internet is that it’s open 24hrs a day 7 days a week and it contains vast volumes of information which is constantly added to every day.
Local libraries are being shut down, when did you last go in one, and the only serious outlets for paper copies are Halfords and a few other motor factors, unless you go to Amazon or the like.
Online is the way of the future, Haynes may well survive as an online subscription service where pdf files can be downloaded, rather than as a traditional paper publisher.
It’s hard to see, in the modern consumer world, how reference books can survive, they are not exactly ‘holiday reading’ sold at airports or promoted on the back of a television series.
I am afraid it’s going to be RIP Haynes manuals unless a charitable buyer can be found.