The K swap in the CRZ is great! I used to have a 90 CRX Si and it was sooo fun. I want another to add to the stable but haven't pulled the trigger on one yet. Son's college and other things but one day I will get another. And probably Kswap it

In a friend group chat only one person wants the Prelude and it is my friend that had 3 of them in the 90s and it is nostalgia mostly. He tries to rationalize it but we see through it

 

This is my biggest gripe with the Mustang Mach E. It just goes to show, marketing folks really are just snake oil salesmen.

But for all intents and purposes, the Prelude, Civic, and Integra really weren't that far apart from each other, practically splitting hairs, so I'm not mad that Honda dropped the Civic Coupe and made it a Prelude, in alot of ways it actually makes sense, a ton more sense than naming a CUV EV after a pony car.

But Honda just refuses to learn the mistakes they made with the CRZ and the NSX, mistakes that even Ray Charles saw coming. If you're going to go avant garde, you really need to be so good it changes perspective. While those cars can be argued to be good, especially with the NSX 2.0, they were not so good that made people rethink their perspectives. Fortunately the NSX is exotic enough that flex culture will buoy its value, but since the CRZ does not have enough "rizz" for the hype bros it's relegated for the dump.

It's a shame especially when you see them K Swapped and how awesome they are.

It just shows Honda again is afraid to compete directly, hoping to carve out a niche and pray that it works. Consider what would happen if Honda did release a new compact coupe, with say the Si drivetrain, and want to charge north of 30k for it. It's competing directly with the GR86, with the same power, same practical challenges, but with FWD vs RWD. So can't do that. Use the CTR drivetrain? Pricing will make it darn near 50k, at which point you're competing against Mustangs.

What makes the CTR so popular is that it's also a totally functional practical vehicle, which drew enough rich folk attention to be a DD and therefore making the poors lust after it. So why would someone want a FWD I4 Turbo coupe when they can have a V8. Or a Z.

I think the sweet spot would've been to reuse the Civic coupe platform (as they did) but use a detuned CTR/Honda Accord Sport drivetrain and try to give it more of an Integra interior and feel. The Prelude was supposed to be the bargain GT car, a more grown up Honda experience with better styling and more refinement. By doing this, they can offer something more grown up/refined than the GR86, with an engine that has been shown to be mod friendly so it will appeal to the JDM crowd especially once people start modding them and posting tik toks of them running away from GR86s on public highways. It will then get some notoriety, Honda fanbois will herald it as a sleeper, feeling reassured that they bought a IYKYK special, and then in a few years come out with a full Type R version, charge stupid money for it but people won't care because it's not about value it's about emotion (think Subaru S208).

It will also fill a void left by VW when they made the GTI 5D only, and now no manual, so again Honda could offer something with a little more spice but with a really good manual driving experience.

I think with that setup they could charge a premium over the Civic Si, GTI, and GR86, especially if they nailed the styling. Then give it a few years, if it proves to be well received then they'll have the opportunity to make a halo Type R version where they can charge stupid money for it. If the core vehicle is beloved, there will be people willing to pay stupid money for a halo version, I mean look at the sort of money people were willing to spend for an S208.

What would've been the icing on the cake is if they somehow made it into a 3D hatch.

I still wouldn't buy it, rather have the Golf R or GRC, or if I wanted something sexier I'd go with the Z/Supra/Mustang, especially now that the Z pricing has fallen and cratered back down to earth.

 

I have to say, this is the dumbest Prelude yet. It makes no sense that a car gets newer and SIGNIFICANTLY slower, even if it can handle. 0-60 in 9 seconds? Sheesh. My wife's minivan outguns that, handily, with the family on board.

Honda has this stupid thing with the Prelude where they can't seem to get past 210 hp. They just linger there, indefinitely. This one has a lot more torque, but it isn't doing it any good, apparently!

These will rot away slowly on dealer lots. Seriously, $43K for this? "Slow economy" is what people are really wanting to buy? I don't think so.

Honestly, a Prius makes a lot more sense overall, with higher practicality, better economy and while it won't handle as well, this ain't a Miata (ie, it's slower!) and so I don't think anyone is going to be canyon running or tracking it, either

 

The the old CRX Si is a blast and a K in that would be amazingly fun!

 

I liked it for the most part when it was in initial stages of release, I even thought I might trade my BRZ for it. But the more I know of it the less attractive it seems. I think that transmission just kills it, there is something wonky with that tranny. My 1997 Prelude had like 205 hp or something like that, the VTEC kick on it was really strong, I enjoyed the car, it wasn't terribly quick but a nice overall car.

 

actually the Prius in AWD trim, handles exceptionally well for what it is. Several YT reviewers (mainly Everyday Driver) mounted proper wheel/tire combo on it and took it cornering in a group with performance cars. It did surprisingly well. There is a noted R35 tuner, who is nationally known, running the AWD variant as a DD, and there are other people doing the same. Very underestimated vehicle/trim and a much better overall vehicle than this Prelude. Honda seems to have an aversion to AWD as it pertains to their cars.

 

Let it out, this is a safe space, you can be free now. Lol jk.

Yeah, it's just so asinine. Literally no one asked for this. A more expensive Civic coupe, that's slower than the Si, that doesn't get as much good of mileage as a Prius, no plug in option so doesn't quality for any credits (do they even exist anymore?) or benefits, and less practical. It's like Honda had an internal battle about making a new coupe, and the side that wanted no more coupes made this Prelude to prove that no one wants a coupe. It's like Honda is saying well we made a car for the enthusiasts and no one bought it, so we're going to focus on making more CUVs.

It's kinda like how VW pretty much stopped developing their manual, which towards the end felt rubbery and was known to be weaker than the DCT, inevitably winning people over and lo and behold now they don't offer one anymore.

 

Yeah I'm amazed that VW gave the middle finger to half their consumer base in the US (for the GTI). In 2024 half of GTIs purchased had manual transmissions. For 2025 they canceled it. Amazing.

 

I never thought about comparing the two and I like the Prelude styling a bit better, but if you gave me the choice between the two it is Prius all the way.

 

I'm not totally surprised, on the one hand it's easy to criticize OEMs for not catering to the enthusiast crowd, but on the other hand we as an enthusiast community need to look at ourselves and realize we cause much of these problems. Not saying you or I specifically, but us as a community.

When OEMs deliver us something, our community then goes and creates all sorts of issues and bad press. Engines catching fire, my transmission broke, etc, when it's clearly owner abuse. My running joke is that as enthusiast cars get older, they seem to get more reliable, as if the problems that were complained about early on self heeled.

Take the AP1, especially the 00-01, the retainers suck, the transmission is weak, and the diff is made of glass, but now suddenly retainers aren't breaking at 8k miles, and loads of examples of them getting well over 150k miles.

Further, enthusiasts don't buy new, as reflected by the take rate of manuals when new vs. the resale value of manual equipped models.

For such a small amount of sales they have to invest a relatively larger amount of resources to defend. I imagine the issue isn't nearly as persistent with higher end makes like Porsche, as their clientele is different. Even look at BMW, they're killing off the manuals for all the lower end stuff and keeping it for the higher end stuff. Manuals just attract a different group of folks.