Honda’s 90s coupe is alive and well

The Honda Prelude (3rd generation) was a huge hit as a ‘date car’ during the bubble era in Japan. Later, with the bursting of the bubble and the decline in the popularity of sports cars, the popularity of the fourth and fifth generations plummeted. As a result, the Prelude lineage disappeared with the year 2001. We asked 5th generation Prelude owner Makoto Ezaki about his thoughts on his car.

My first car was a 3rd generation Prelude

“I got my driver’s license when I was around 21, but I wasn’t interested in cars at first. Then my father gave me a car, a 3rd generation Prelude.”

Ezaki’s father worked for a used car dealership at the time. As a result, he had the opportunity to drive a variety of vehicles and acquired a 3rd generation Prelude as a trade-in for his own commute to work.

“Now that you’ve got your license, if you want to drive it, you can drive it however you want.”

This car became Mr. Ezaki’s favorite car as a result of a casual encounter.

“At first I didn’t have any feelings about it, but around that time sports cars became popular, probably due to the influence of ‘Initial D’ and “Fast and Furious’. My friends started driving Skyline and 180SX. I was gradually becoming aware that the Prelude I was driving was not a sports car, but it was a cool two-door car.

But then misfortune struck. The reason was due to Mr. Ezaki’s careless driving. Because he desperately needed a car, he had to acquire a new one. And the car he chose was the 5th generation Prelude.