Honda Prelude Concept

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Thing is, it's not like a budget Type R or Si. Honda went through the trouble of fitting most of the Civic Type R handling bits and left the engine flat. If it were a $30,000 coupe then sure, makes sense.
Tack on another $20,000 for the CTR engine & drivetrain and then the price is justified.
 
I mean the fact that Honda did make the exact same mistake before down to the letter with the CR-Z suggests that either that guy didn't get fired or Honda are completely clueless what they want this car to be. No amount of "15 years from now you'll wish you still bought this car" complaining we're going to get from car journalists or Doug and Bids videos will make the people buying them now any less of a rube for buying one instead of a Civic Hybrid for a huge pile less money (or, frankly, just buying the similarly priced CTR) than the people who paid the huge premium to buy the slower/heavier/less practical CR-Z instead of just buying a Fit. The price estimates the auto rags have been giving it peg it at even about the same premium over the Civic Hybrid as the CR-Z was over the Fit.


Of particular note:
FT-1
To me, it feels like it’s slotting into the same space cars like the entry-level Audi TT or Mustang Ecoboost once held, something that looks sporty and fun, without being too hardcore.
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Ford still sells that! For 3/4 the price of what all the estimates have been so far for the Prelude.
 
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Tornado
Ford still sells that! For 3/4 the price of what all the estimates have been so far for the Prelude.
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Here in the UK, you can’t buy the Mustang Ecoboost anymore. During the last few years it was on sale, prices started at around £40k, pretty much what I’d expect Honda to ask for the Prelude. To put that into perspective, a top-spec Civic Hybrid starts from £38k.
 
Probably not a flop. I bet there are Mustang owners that just want to coupe shape and not so much that it can go quickly with a 4-cylinder or V8. May be a reason why so many have sold her in Australia.
I don't see Mustang owners binning them on curbs/kerbs. Most I see are driven calmly. Definitely not being revved since they're more likely an automatic.

All the Prelude needs is premium build quality and tech. Will fit in garages easily. Ease of use and kind of be well hidden in traffic and parking lots. Yet, have enough style to look fresh.

Mustangs here are around $65,000AUD(Ecoboost auto) and $82,000AUD(GT auto). If Prelude is undercutting that, it should do just fine.
 
Darla Starch
www.carscoops.com

2026 Prelude Costs $42,000, Has Honda Lost The Plot Or Pulled A Genius Move? | Carscoops

Hybrid coupe is $10k more than a base Mustang and only $970 less than a Nissan Z with double the power
www.carscoops.com www.carscoops.com
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Come on, man :indiff:

I've said this on Reddit already, but, I swear, I think the only reason this car exists is because Honda needed a better body profile for use with Super GT.

Considering this is priced against a Nissan Z(!) of all cars, I guess that's their excuse (never mind the Civic Type R sucked so much).

Also, this car is, supposedly, selling very well with older folk in Japan. I know this car isn't meant to act as an, "option," in the same vein as to what the CR-Z was to the Fit and Insight, but I cannot imagine that success translating nearly as well in the States.

Seriously, you can get a Z for that price. You can get top of the line Toyobaru Twins or a Miata. Splurge just a tiny bit more and you can get a Mustang GT. Even the now-discontinued 4-cylinder Supra was hovering around 45k USD. And if you're open to buying used, well-maintained C7s can be had for this car's MSRP!

As much as I like the idea of the new Prelude, as a CR-Z owner, this thing is DOA when it hits showroom floors. At least with the CR-Z, it was priced reasonably well alongside contemporary hatchbacks of it day, but it kinda got cannibalized by Honda's own offerings when the CR-Z didn't do anything better than the Fit or Civic (except looks, but even that's subjective). When the CR-Z got more power via the HPD package, it still didn't make any sense when a Civic Si was more practical and cost, at minimum, $5k less. And then you had all the people who played Gran Turismo who got mad because the CR-Z wasn't like the older CR-Xs :lol: (they made no difference to the sales of the CR-Z)

People in the states do not buy small cars anymore, much less coupes. The Toyobaru twins and Miatas barely crack 20k a year. Pick any crossover and they'll sell like 2 million in the same time frame.

I thought that when Honda killed the Civic coupe back in 2020, that it would return when Acura announced the return of the Integra for 2023. When that didn't happen and they announced the Prelude as a pseudo-replacement for the Insight/Civic Hybrid, I already had doubts that Honda didn't learn a thing from their 7 years desperately trying to make the CR-Z work (the car had two facelifts, which is extremely impressive for a car that barely sold over 30k units in its entire run in the US). Now that it's priced alongside a Civic Type R???

What is Honda doing? Is this a Halo car? Didn't the Type R already fill that role?
 
Gerarghini
Come on, man :indiff:

I've said this on Reddit already, but, I swear, I think the only reason this car exists is because Honda needed a better body profile for use with Super GT.

Considering this is priced against a Nissan Z(!) of all cars, I guess that's their excuse (never mind the Civic Type R sucked so much).

Also, this car is, supposedly, selling very well with older folk in Japan. I know this car isn't meant to act as an, "option," in the same vein as to what the CR-Z was to the Fit and Insight, but I cannot imagine that success translating nearly as well in the States.

Seriously, you can get a Z for that price. You can get top of the line Toyobaru Twins or a Miata. Splurge just a tiny bit more and you can get a Mustang GT. Even the now-discontinued 4-cylinder Supra was hovering around 45k USD. And if you're open to buying used, well-maintained C7s can be had for this car's MSRP!

As much as I like the idea of the new Prelude, as a CR-Z owner, this thing is DOA when it hits showroom floors. At least with the CR-Z, it was priced reasonably well alongside contemporary hatchbacks of it day, but it kinda got cannibalized by Honda's own offerings when the CR-Z didn't do anything better than the Fit or Civic (except looks, but even that's subjective). When the CR-Z got more power via the HPD package, it still didn't make any sense when a Civic Si was more practical and cost, at minimum, $5k less. And then you had all the people who played Gran Turismo who got mad because the CR-Z wasn't like the older CR-Xs :lol: (they made no difference to the sales of the CR-Z)

People in the states do not buy small cars anymore, much less coupes. The Toyobaru twins and Miatas barely crack 20k a year. Pick any crossover and they'll sell like 2 million in the same time frame.

I thought that when Honda killed the Civic coupe back in 2020, that it would return when Acura announced the return of the Integra for 2023. When that didn't happen and they announced the Prelude as a pseudo-replacement for the Insight/Civic Hybrid, I already had doubts that Honda didn't learn a thing from their 7 years desperately trying to make the CR-Z work (the car had two facelifts, which is extremely impressive for a car that barely sold over 30k units in its entire run in the US). Now that it's priced alongside a Civic Type R???

What is Honda doing? Is this a Halo car? Didn't the Type R already fill that role?
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They're basically betting on the drivetrain due to the fact that this hybrid drivetrain is more powerful than the base Civic and nearly as powerful as the Si.

But the Prelude itself as well as the Civic Coupe died for a reason. All other FWD coupes like this car from all other companies have died, including Honda's own efforts. There is no difference between this coupe and all those coupes besides the more powerful drivetrain...but then again, the original Preludes were sporty coupes and they were unsustainable. The Civic Si Coupe was discountinued in 2020 because the sedan consistently outsold it.

If they want to bring back a sports coupe it needs to be an S car. There just is no market for a sporty-but-non-sports coupe and there hasn't been since before 2008.
 
The performance or even sporty coupe market has been struggling to survive for a decade, worldwide, but there has historically been a market for non-sporty coupes, especially smaller ones even if it’s been dead for a good while. Someone has to first test the waters to see if it’s a viable segment once more, maybe Honda feel it should be them?
 
They killed the Civic coupe here, I'm not sure if the market is there. This thing starts at $51,131 CAD before adding any options. I could go buy a GR Corolla off the lot right now for $51,418
 
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