Honda Prelude First Impression from The Drive

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by spcmafia

At least in Japan, it was reported that the buyer demographic was mostly senior citizens.

Depending on how you define "senior" that is likely driven by price and name recognition. Younger "folks" can't afford multiple cars so unless they are single and/or child-free a Prelude isn't going to cut it for them.

If Honda was after the younger end of the demographic they would have had to price this in the mid-30s and even that is pushing it. To me this is a move up car from the Civic, not a first time new car buyer car.

[Dake]

I think people are mis-remembering the Prelude as a great "first" car when it was only ever a first car for the second or third owner. It and other cars were "inexpensive" GT cars (when compared with Euro counterparts) not "cheap" 2 doors like the Chevrolet Cavalier, and it and its brethren were always more expensive than the base-model versions of the cars on which they were based like the Accord or Camry in the case of the Celica. The Prelude and Celica top trims were near the top of their manufacturers' offerings at the time, and they were both also more expensive than their USDM counterparts.

For example, look at 1995 Pricing:

Honda Prelude - $20k - $26k
Toyota Celica - $17k - $24k (no longer available in top GTS trim)
Ford Probe - $14k - $17k
Chevy Beretta - $13 - $17k

So it may be damning with faint praise, but Prelude was always expensive, and you could always buy "more for less" if you went USDM, but that's not why we buy Hondas or Toyotas. The real bummer is, it seems tough today because there are no other comparable options in the price range. There is not another hybrid GT coupe out there for less than $100k that I'm aware of. Yes, you could buy a Mustang or BMW for the same or a GR86 for less, but they are arguably not filling the same niche. I'm hoping Prelude helps to revive it.

[bcj]

The first Preludes in the US were luxury priced at the dealers.
I could only afford a Civic S back then.

[Swift]

^^



A $23k Prelude in 1995 money is $49k today. So yeah, okay, however what people kind of forget is if you want leather seats and gadgets, go to Acura(even Acura forgot that and doesn't know WTF it has been doing since 2008) and the other thing is that most Americans DON'T HAVE THE WEALTH we once did. We are literally more poor because our wages haven't kept up.

So in today's world, it should be $35k with heated seats IMO.


PS- Honda and Acura should be only sold at the same dealerships, on opposite sides of the lot. Honda should go back to bare bones basics to get price back down for people's first cars. Cloth seats non heated, no heated power mirrors, no blindspot, only what is required by law. The engines are the same like always and what they have been doing, maybe a generation behind what is in Acura. Price comes down, sells like hot cakes.

[Lantanafrs2]

All this makes a twin look like a value.