1984 Honda Prelude | Retro Review 

That stick was smooth. I once had someone sitting in the back and we had driven for about 50 miles until he first noticed me shifting. He said, that he thought it was an automatic.

Even though the engines had to rev hard to get the power out, they did not feel like they were working that hard. In comparison, a powerful four like the GM quad four felt like you were destroying the engine when you revved it hard.

Bryan Jones That’s all in the balancing. American 4cyls have always been shitty and rough.

Gal friend of mine had this Prelude in HS. One ride and I knew these were much better than domestic cars. The way it handled and sounded was completely different. The doors. The dash layout, gages. Everything was purposeful and fun

​@@monkeywkeys3916Totally 'agree!Honda Preludes were tops at the times during the '80s...

I had a first and second gen Prelude and a first and second gen CRX. I now have a 10th gen Accord.

@@frankiemck40 awesome! i have a tips & tricks video for the 10th hen Accord :-)

@@frankiemck40 I love this Honda Prelude 1985-1988

Your right same with one of the steering wheels available in the third gen camaros with the rectangle lol

yes you can, it's not red

that image suckered me in ... had to check it out

incyphe You still CAN get more 80s -First, put it in Sport Coupé. Second, make sure it has retractable headlamps. And if you still want more, then add a t-roof, a bra and seat covers.

What were the all vehicles after that?? If you can remember, I remember all my parents vehicles from 1989 to today in 2023😂

my two still are!

A friend had one. Not sure how she arrived at buying Honda. But she was 💯 right for doing so. I still remember the no nonsense interior. Very smart.

@@monkeywkeys3916 Honda Prelude 1980s is best. This generation is my favorites

I know that the columbine shooter have one at high school too

Honda's technology in the 80's was amazing. This is when they knew how to build some of the best looking automobiles. Old Honda's are the boss

Yeah, it just pitty they have lost their edge now. Definitly when it comes to coupes and the American Acura line. What ever happened to the Prelude, the Integra and the CRX? whatever happened to our heroes? :p

FrightfulAccountant it's ugly. I much prefer the next generation from the late 1980s

Doktor Hachi Roku They still have the Bluebird name. If you're talking about Nissan?

The '80's was my favorite decade for Honda styling, both inside and out. They got the balance just right of being fresh & modern without looking like something that had just beamed down from 2050, and it definitely worked. These cars look every bit as good today as they did 34 years ago.

I love 80s Hondas too. They had sort of an exotic Ferrari-esque styling to them. But by the mid 90s they reverted back to the stereotypical rice burner look from the 70s. But I do say some of the newer Hondas are starting to look pretty good.

This is a 1982 model. In Japan, some were equipped with ABS brakes.

@@KSergey1970 Not an '82. This is definitely an '83.

The only sporty cars Honda has at the moment since the s2000 ended in 2009 is the civic si coupe and the accord coupe. The prelude was a great car no doubt

+Acc0rd79 I really wish Honda would bring back the Prelude. It's my favorite car of all time and I've had 3 of them over the years back in the 90's.

I have owned an 85 and a 91 4ws models and loved them both. My favorite about these two generations are the great front visibily due to the low hood line.

+85corolla yup cars are so bloated now

+85corolla I'm assuming by your name you either have had or just like mid 80's corollas I had a 85 gts hatch and a 86 gts coupe...miss them so much...nothing more fun than driving sideways...

My step-mom had an '87. I just remember it as a buzzy sounding ugly piece of shit. Guess you've never owned a good car.

I had an '80, an '88 Si 4WS and a '94 VTEC. I loved them too.

I have a 90

I had a 1982 Prelude with silver exterior with blood red interior.

I'm sorry for you.

I’ve owned 7 over the years. Finally got myself down to one, a late 2001.

Yes! I owned an '88 Prelude Si 4WS. Loved that car.

yes I loved those 4WS

I had a 91 with the 2.1

One more useless feature to break.

Yes..Drive one when I worked at Macco Body shop..It was sweet

LeadBlastin22 that's awesome you were able to sell it for that much... goes to show the quality of old hondas :)

@@NickAlexander_is_Awesome He definitely got his money's worth. It's not unheard of though to get that much for an older high mileage car. I bought a 1985 Volvo 240 with 134k miles for $2500 in absolute mint condition. I sold it a couple years later with 168k miles for $2300. Some cars hold their value really well.

Mine too. Inherited from my dad. Wrote it off shortly after. Loved it so much I bought another one, same year but different colour. I'm still so ashamed of myself for ruining such a great car. Were we ever so young and stupid?

Me 2! 1984 Prelude in that silver. Loved it!

Lucky you

Joseph Lee I agree! JD and the team should have these videos in the Library of Congress!

In this case what nation, Japan?

+Pete Jackson (Papa's Vlogs) I had an '86 Si and it remains one of my favorites. It rode on rails, handled like a dream.

Maybe it's just me, but in my opinion the Si was overdone and looked it. Then again I always preferred the Firebird Formula to the Trans Am.

S2020

The carbs were because they were actually behind on technology. Fiat had fuel injection here in America 1981

I was curious, so I plugged the numbers into the BLS inflation calculator. $10k in 1984 is the equivalent of just around $24k today.

high end salaries went up and did minimum wage, but middle income doesn't not seem to have increased with the rate of cost of goods and services making cars much more of a financial burden than a joy to purchase.

+jaymum23 -- You're 1000% correct. In my opinion, it's not just the Japanese automakers that have lost their way. Frankly I can't think of ANY new car or automaker that really... captivates (?) me, other than Mazda as you've pointed out. Sadly, cars are becoming more closely related to appliances than the marvelous, soul-stirring machines of yesteryear (for me at least), but so goes life.

The real Honda is back!

Jake from State Farm Ummm...Aerial Atom? Toyota 86? Mazda MX5?

@@wawewawe1316 Three very niche vehicles? We're talking when even their sedans were desirable, like the Accord. Hondas are all pretty bloated and bizarre looking nowadays. Not the same appeal.

Which is ironic as the Camaro had no grill either. Strange comment!

and then you woke up...

... replied the being from another Galaxy!

TheSuperMotoHooligan Do yourself have experience both cars? I owned both a 1987 Porsche 944s and a 1986 Honda Prelude 2.0 Si. The Prelude, for being front drive, handled as well as was better in fit and finish. Also the 944 was remincent of the bad old days of supercars as it was great at speed, but below 40mph the 944's steering was so ridiculously heavy that it almost felt "agricultural" around town. Thanks to the 944 I can now parallel park anything with ease. The main issue is the 944 origins date back to, I believe, 1976 with the original 924 and the design was really showing it's age. Where the Prelude was modern if not head of the game for when it came out. While they both handled very well, they both rode very hard, in fact the Prelude may have lost in this catagory. Yes it had road feel, to the point you could run over a coin and tell whether it was heads or tails. The Porsche was not much better, although the Prelude made me wonder if I should get to know some local chiropractors.

@@kevinpatrickmacnutt did you ever compare the second generation Mazda RX-7 of the time since they were clearly going after the 924 and 944?

Adjusting the valves was no picnic either, but you had to do it frequently.

this is a second gen. you doughnut

Well, if you knew how to read I was talking about what I drive. ^-^

And if you knew how to read youd see this title is about a 2nd gen. Prelude. If you still drive it though rock on I have a 84 and a 90 civic.

Well if you knew how to read I was just stating what I drive. Nothing wrong with stating what you drive.

+D'Lite Xiong well clearly we both know how to read and I just thought your comment was out of context

david dykeman It became too good for general public to appreciate :-( The last gen Prelude was amazing.

incyphe best explanation I've ever heard. 1995 Prelude SE Owner. Damn shame.

It was heavy and had serious understeer.

It got too pricey near the end.

What niche did it fill? If I was in the market in the late 90s, I would have rather bought the Civic Si or Integra GS-R. If I lived outside the US, then surely the Type R brothers were better cars than the Prelude. Just my opinion.

You could fit adults in the rear seat of a Grand Prix. I like both cars btw.

Kevin C my 2nd gen lude was a si. 2.0l dohc injected. it was actually really quick

Kevin C yep....they weren't that fast off the line, but they were very quick going from, say, 30 to 60

John Wagner startles? I SHIT my britches!!!!

John Wagner ok grandpa Simpson