Comfort and convenience over style and fun-to-drive nature — it’s an industry trend that is nothing new, more recently seen with crossovers/SUVs overtaking sedans in popularity and several automakers discontinuing or planning to discontinue sales of sedans altogether in favor of CUVs and SUVs. But long before the age of the crossover, sedans were king, and reigned supreme through the 1980s and 1990s as coupes rapidly fell out of popularity. Two-door versions of popular sedans were lamentable casualties nonetheless, but the more tragic losses were the coupe-only vehicles, particularly performance-oriented ones that served as halo models for their given brand, such as the Honda Prelude.
The Prelude was in fact, for most of its 23-year existence spanning five generations, Honda’s “halo model” and flagship, showcasing the latest and greatest in technology, engineering, design, and performance, not to mention the highest price tag of any Honda, at least in markets where the Legend and NSX were badged as Acuras.
Introduced in 1978, the Prelude was initially based on the Accord, yet featured a more powerful engine, greater amount of standard features, lower curb weight, plus a 2.3-inch shorter wheelbase and 14-inch shorter overall length, for a long-hood, short-deck appearance. Reviews were overwhelmingly favorable, and sales in Japan and the U.S. were strong, solidifying the Prelude’s place at the top of Honda’s lineup, at least for the next two decades.
The Prelude’s second and third generations, which sported “Ferrari styling”, pop-up headlights, and more muscular proportions are often most memorable, with the second (1983-1987) generation proving the most popular, and the third (1988-1991) introducing four-wheel steering, something the Prelude would continue offering for the remainder of its life.
The Prelude took on a whole new look for its fourth generation, ditching its pop-up headlights and wedge-shaped styling for a sleeker, more understated appearance. Despite greater performance, enhancements to its four-wheel steering system, and a more luxurious cockpit with a high-tech looking full-width instrument cluster featuring translucent backlit gauges, sales were down considerably, largely a result of consumers shifting to four-doors, as well as SUVs.
Its fifth, and ultimately final generation saw the Prelude return to the more familiar look of its second and third generations, but the writing was on the wall. Sport coupes that emphasized performance over practicality simply weren’t high volume vehicles anymore. Versus selling over 70,000 units annually in the U.S. from 1985-1987, the Prelude never topped 20,000 units after 1993.
From a performance perspective, and its intended mission as a dedicated sports coupe, the Prelude very much still ticked all the boxes. All Preluded featured front and rear double-wishbone suspensions, 5-speed manual or “Sequential Sport Shift” 4-speed automatic with manual shift more, 16″ wheels, and four-wheel disc antilock brakes. North American models now featured a standard 2.2-liter 16-valve DOHC VTEC inline-4, making 200 horsepower at 700 rmp and 156 lb-ft torque at 5250 rmp, and posting zero-to-sixty times of under 7 seconds — quite impressive for the late-1990s from a naturally-aspirated I4.
Four-wheel steering was no longer an option offered in the North American market, though Prelude Type-SH (Super Handling) models added Honda’s advanced torque-vectoring technology, dubbed Active Torque Transfer System (ATTS), which would send more power to the outside front wheel during cornering to minimize under-steer during acceleration and over-steer during deceleration. Type-SH Preludes, however, were only available in 5-speed manual guise, no problem for most enthusiasts, yet a detrimental factor in the model’s overall appeal.
A possible result of the Japanese asset price bubble and Japanese automakers’ responding cost cutting, the fifth generation Prelude’s interior was rather plain and unremarkable. Fit and finish were nonetheless as good as, or better than any other vehicle under $30,000, yet when compared to the fourth generation Prelude’s interior, the fifth lacked any sort of “wow” factor.
Unlike the preceding two generations, the fifth generation Prelude’s center console and instrument panel did not seamlessly blend together, instead split by an empty vertical gap and an substantial amount of carpeted forward driveshaft tunnel for a look reminiscent of early-1980s Hondas. This is a more personal irksome matter, but nonetheless it made for a less-refined interior environment.
Comfort and convenience features were pretty expected standard fare for the Prelude’s segment and price class. Power windows, power locks, moonroof, air conditioning, leather-wrapped steering wheel, premium cloth upholstery, 6-way adjustable driver’s seat with adjustable lumbar support and 4-way adjustable passenger seat, 6-speaker AM/FM stereo with in-dash CD and cassette player were all included, among other features, with little in the way of available extra-cost options and upgrades.
Feature content, however, could not disguise the fact that the Prelude was one of a rapidly dying breed. Competitors, including the Mazda MX-6, Ford Probe, Volkswagen Corrado, and Nissan 240SX were all gone by 1998, although an even more concerning factor would come from right across the showroom in the form of the 1998 Honda Accord coupe.
No longer just an Accord sedan with two doors, the sixth generation Accord coupe now featured its own shorter wheelbase and dedicated exterior styling sharing no body panels with the sedan. It also featured an available V6 making identical horsepower and some 39 additional lb-ft torque to the Prelude’s I4, a more luxurious interior boasting significantly more passenger space and double the trunk capacity, plus optional amenities not offered on North American-spec Preludes including leather, power seats, and automatic climate control. A highly compelling alternative, the Accord coupe made the Prelude seem even more unnecessary and unneeded than ever, something even more meaningful when considering that Honda also offered the similar-sized Acura CL.
With sales continuing to slide, dipping to under 10,000 units in the U.S. for 2000, Honda announced in June 2001 that the Prelude would not return, marking an end to its storied 23-year history. Honda enthusiasts were left to find solace in models such as the Civic Si, Integra/RSX, and the newly-introduced S2000 roadster, while most Honda buyers continued to flock to more comfortable, family-friendly models. By contrast even the Passport SUV, a thinly-rebadged Isuzu, sold some 20,000 units that year, with the Odyssey and CR-V each selling to the tune of 120K units, and the Accord of course, topping 400K sales.
The Prelude was but one of many 2-door casualties, a trend that began industry-wise in the mid-1980s, and has continued through the present day with the most recent being none other than the Accord coupe. With its introduction preluding the beginning of the Great Decline of Coupes by just a few years, the name “Prelude” came to have more meaning than even Honda product planners could have anticipated.
Photographed in Hingham, Massachusetts – May 2018
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We used to call it the Honda Quaalude.
My neighbour had a first generation Prelude (dark blue if I remember it correctly). What stood out to me about her Prelude was how low I sat as compared to other cars I’ve ridden and how much interior space as compared to exterior size. That stuck to me ever since.
When I visited Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay, I came across the third generation Prelude used as daily drive. Of all generations, the third one is my favourite.
The demise of this type of car really saddens me. An hypothetical Prelude with a rear hatch strikes be as the ideal vehicle: sleek yet practical. My current steed is a Celica but it is very unrefined compared with a Honda, I hate it for that.
Fantastic write up. You made a great point about the Prelude not being attractive to buyers after the introduction of the 1998 Accord. Beyond the reasons you described, I think coupe customers liked the Accord’s styling in addition to its practical advantages.
Drivers who currently own a Prelude seem to keep them in good condition. That is apparent from your photos and my personal observations. This seems to also be true of people who own Lincoln Aviators, the Acura RSX, and other vehicles I can’t name off the top of my head right now.
Besides the Accord coupe, the Acura Intergra and RSX also grabbed some potential Prelude buyers. It could had been interesting to imagine what if Honda had decided to rechristen the Accord coupe as the Prelude?
I’ve always loved the 1983+ Preludes. I really wanted to buy one in the fall of 1983, but I couldn’t quite financially stretch for it. I ended up buying a 5-speed CRX 1.5 as a consolation prize, which turned out all right – I loved that car.
I remember the US magazine reviews for the first-generation Prelude being somewhat less than enthusiastic with writers carping about the style, cramped interior, and the odd co-axial speedometer/tach (which Honda eliminated for 1981). The journalistic love fest didn’t really begin until the second generation.
I owned an 83 prelude in silver, truly an excellent fun to drive car. i was teaching my then wife to drive out in NJ and she panicked hitting the gas instead of the brakes and hit a concrete block. the car was totaled. we were unhurt except for my little Prelude. if i could find one i’d buy it. the 2nd gen is getting harder to find.
Great article from an historic and design point of view! I was always fond of the Prelude, although I am not a “sports car lover”. I think it’s a shame that Honda does not sell a Prelude model anymore. My favourite generation is the second and third series.
I’ve owned several Hondas over the years but have never ridden in or driven a Prelude. They are attractive cars, but I guess the practical part of me thought that the Accord 2 door made better sense.
If I wanted to buy 1 today, my 1st choice would be the 3rd generation with the 5th generation being my. “fall back” choice. I didn’t really care for the 4th generation all that much when it was new, and still don’t care for it.
It’s a shame that 2nd and 3rd owners of these cars in all generations but the first would modify them so unmercifully. I do still see 3rd and 5th generation models in my area, but the other generations have (apparently?) all gone into pick a part yards.
The 5th generation is my favourite although the 2bd and 3rd are also good.
As said before, very sad (I would go as far to describe it as tragic) that this type of vehicle has all but disappeared from the new car market. But we have an environment of dumb sheep now. Oh well.
I always wondered how a 5th generation Prelude fitted with the S2000’s engine and RWD drivetrain would turn out. ?
Of the many Hondas I have been around, a Prelude was not one of them. I think that the Prelude was always seen as the 2 door alternative to the Accord, and once the Accord added a coupe the reason for the Prelude really came into question.
For younger readers, it is difficult to overstate the extent to which child car seat laws killed the sporty two door car. There was a time when a 2 door was seen as stylish for young people getting a start in life and when the kids started coming it was perfect because there were no doors for them to fall out of. 4 doors and wagons only came when the kids got older and it became too much of a PITA for them getting in and out of that back seat.
But mandatory child safety seats made 2 door cars completely unworkable. It is one thing to hold a seat back while your toddler walks in and sits down. It is quite another to have to follow him in to get him fastened in. When you eliminate the market of 1) those with young kids and 2) those who expect young kids before the car is paid off, you have elminated a really big portion of possible customers.
I always found these cars very attractive, but I can see why they fell out of favor when the 6th Gen Accord Coupe came out in 1998. I remember the first time I saw one (at a gas station adjacent to the same dealer that I would eventually buy my 2016 Civic Coupe). It was brand new and black and simply gorgeous. At first I thought it WAS a new Prelude as it looked so sporty. Having a ’97 T-Bird (another victim to coupes dropping in popularity at the time), I was impressed and thought if I eventually bought a Honda (which I did), at least THEY weren’t giving up on the coupe style. Alas, for 2018 the Accord Coupe is gone, leaving only the Civic… for now… …
I guess I’m in the minority, but for me the first generation will always be my favorite. I was around many of these back in the day, and just find the design so clean, simple and “conservatively sexy”. At the time (early 80’s) the first gen Prelude was the proto-yuppie equivalent to the BMW 3-series of a few years later. In the late 80’s I was tending bar part time and a regular patron ran a small backyard body shop. He had an ’81 prelude in the back of his shop with repairable front-end damage and about 30k on the odometer. I tried in vain to convince him to repair it and make an even trade for the ’85 Chrysler Conquest I was driving at the time (which also needed some minor body work after a low-speed incident in a driveway). I was unsuccessful in orchestrating that trade, but that little silver Prelude haunted me, especially during the winter, when that Conquest was practically useless despite studded snow tires.
The 80s Preludes are my favorite overall, but these have aged very well, and IMO they were a return to form after the bizarre rat shaped deviation that was the 4th gen. Maybe the interior is “unremarkable”, but it’s functional, attractive and well built, and personally the seamless consoles/dashes is one of my big triggers regarding modern car interiors, all it does is make both unnecessarily chunky at the transition point, so I actually applaud Honda for making them clearly separated. It’s like a kitchen island vs. a peninsula.
That you cannot get cars like this anymore is pretty much why I’m mostly indifferent to the grim state of the sedan, I’m never going to stop mourning the demise of the coupe/2-door, and am never ever going to forgive the child safety nannys for accelerating it either. People will and do sacrifice style over convenience, there are numerous current examples outside of automobiles that haven’t been commodified by lawyers and politicians yet. And really you’d think humans are the most brittle and weak species on planet earth with some of the excuses and rationalizations explaining the move to CUVs. What people don’t want is being forced to sacrifice, beyond their say, and the current state of the sedan is a clear sacrifice, which in most cases are trying very hard to not be your dad’s sedan, often compromising the usefulness of 4 doors with intrusive rooflines and tiny trunk openings in order to placate the would-be style conscious coupe buyers, but instead just made a worse sedan for the sedan buyer, and an inadequate substitution for the coupe buyer. CUVs are fresh enough where they aren’t seen as a sacrifice, they are what they are.
I like Preludes better now than I did at the time, particularly the 3rd gen. I recall them being good drivers but rather expensive, underpowered, and understated compared to their contemporaries.
The 4th generation was hugely polarizing when it came out with the very different styling and the extremely different dashboard/instrumentation. As I recall the price was a step higher as well. Sales kind of dropped off and then they never got it back with the 5th gen as people had moved on to either the in-house competition (Accord Coupe and the CL) or, as you proposed, something different entirely.
The 5th gen should just have followed the 3rd, it’s the natural evolution of the styling. As it was it’s more like some mom was given the wrong kid at the hospital after birth. It’s like the first kid was from the first marriage, then kids 2,3, and 5 all look alike from the second marriage. But kid 4 is a different race altogether, nobody is really sure what the story is…It wasn’t “bad”, just a serious tangent.
That being said, the 2nd gen is my favorite, then the 3rd, then the 5th, then probably the 4th and lastly the 1st which was weird too but weird in the OK 70’s Japanese way.
Either way, very nice find, it looks in extremely good shape, I don’t see these at all anymore.
I had an old Civic get to work beater, great little bomb for what it was, I bought a 89 Prelude based on that experience from someone desperate for cash ex JDM it had all the features some of which still worked, the popup lights were ok and worked power seats and AC not so much, it couldnt pass inspection so went away rather quickly, handling was ok but not exceptional definitely a freeway car in that respect but could be fun within its limits.
I think killing the Prelude was a horrible move on Honda’s part. They’ve pretty much given up on ANYTHING eyecatching and fun these days. True, Civic can be had as a 2-door, but the less said about that hunchback looking thing the better. The ‘Ludes were never a hardcore performance machine but they looked good and were pretty decent drivers cars. The Accord coupe (prettier version of a sedan without any real performance guts) is what I never understood. S2000 was a move in the right direction, imagine a rwd Prelude with a turbocharged big bore 4cyl.
That yellow Prelude is wearing just about the only directional ‘sawblade’ style of wheel Ive ever liked. Very eyecatching and suits the car perfectly.
The yellow pic is a promo shot Kaminari did for their body kits. Their late 1980’s / early 1990’s products were all over Japanese cars of that era, and are becoming very sought after. The photos themselves from their catalog from that time have become iconic in and of themselves.
I can see why!
I took some time this afternoon to reflect upon about how I feel about the fifth generation. Honestly, as much as I liked/wanted one when new, I don’t think nearly as highly of them now. Driving a ’95 Celica GT coupe at the time, these seemed a huge upgrade upon release (I never liked the semi-fastback fourth gen.). Test drove one thinking I might trade. Superior performance, but handling was par between the two, and that Prelude interior was borderline cheap regardless of that high price tag. Sliding HVAC controls are one of my major turnoffs in cars, and not only did Prelude keep them, the Integra also did, to the end. Ick in a $25k car. Regarding the Accord coupe being a direct threat, nothing could be more true. Roomier, better materials, more feature content, and cheaper were all pros. For reference, a 2001 EX coupe (closest features to the base Prelude) cost $21,400. The ‘Lude went for $23,600. The SH was $26,100, whereas a much better equipped and leather clad EX V6 Accord coupe was $1,000 less.
Then I had a owner/boss with a white SH later in life. Found out Honda’s reputation for impeccable reliability here is questionable. The man took meticulous care of his vehicles, and even had a heated garage with a hose to wash winter salt off. That couldn’t stop the rear wheel wells from rusting thru by year 8. That trick SH differential? Great until it fails around 90-110k (and they will fail, according to a very reputable Honda tech I know) and you then are faced with a nearly $3,000 repair. Changed my mind right quick about these.
Every time I see a 5th generation Prelude (especially in the light blue in the brochure pictures above), I think of my daughter’s very ex-boyfriend. His parents bought him a new ’99 or 2000 Prelude as a college graduation present.
Did you finish buying groceries at Whole Foods there Brendan??
Or stop by Bertucci’s for a beer and pie?