Fix: remove the $ character from the regexp on this line of 'bootstrap' script:

  if test -n "`$AUTOMAKE --version 2>&1|head -n 1|egrep '1\.[0-6]$'`"; then

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Explanation:

The pattern is assuming a version number like "1.6" but is fooled by "1.6.3", so it tries to continue with this old automake version and fails later in a non-obvious fashion.

With my fix, it exits correctly and prints "Automake 1.7 or above is required. Aborting build..."