why was the prelude discontinued - Honda Prelude Forum

W1CK3Dlude · 02-21-2005, 12:20 PM

my wife asked me the other day and i know i read it somewhere, but i completely forgot. i know it was because sales were low, but i am wondering if anyone has the figures or an article to share. thanks.

SunShine287 · 02-21-2005, 12:37 PM

Besides the obvious reason that sales were low, think about this for a second... What would the lude be if you changed everything "bad" or unideal about it? Nobody likes those backseats. Everyone always wished the lude was a few hundred pounds lighter. Anyone making decent power wishes it were RWD. Those that track or autox desire a more balanced weight ratio. Hell, their are so many people doing the HID conversions, why not chuck that in.

Basically, the way i see it is, if you take the prelude, which is a sport-compact or rather half-ass sports car, and change everything people don't like about it, you get a S2k. Even the newer S2ks have 2.2liter engines, how funny is that? I've always seen the NSX as the older brother, the prelude as the younger teenage brother, and the S2k as an evolved prelude, or stable adult in this scenario.

Daemione · 02-21-2005, 12:40 PM

Combination of low sales and the availability of a legitimate replacement in the RSX . . . .

h22 bb6 · 02-21-2005, 12:49 PM

It was also an expensive car to produce. It did not share many parts w/ other cars in the Honda/Acura lineup (it was its own unique chassis) and it was made in Japan and had to be shipped over to the US for sales.

NotoriouSH · 02-21-2005, 01:44 PM

Honda cares more about doing good business than it does catering to a small niche market. That's why the Prelude is gone, and that's also why the S2k will be gone in a year or so. The NSX is also disappearing from what I heard, the only reason it lasted as long as it did was probably to provide racing teams with a decent chassis to work with and as a halo car for the company.

tehsu · 02-21-2005, 04:22 PM

Anyone hear about the Honda HSC, its the next NSX, really lovely body

PretecSH · 02-21-2005, 04:55 PM

*search

hwani.h22a. · 02-21-2005, 05:21 PM

Low sales = Discontinue of Prelude.
Reason for low sales = No bang for the $$$.

think about it.. Prelude was priced over 24k msrp. who would pay that much for such car that has outdated interior, no other options available to it, same power(slower too) as last generation, sports compact 2+2 that has virtually no rear space compare to others, trunk space lacks, etc etc.

Many say 6th generation Accord coupe terminated prelude production.
Because 6th gen accord v6(same price range) offers so much more, its more stylish in and out(well thats subjective), tons of more options, promising performance(not as good as ludes), excellent comfort, etc etc = good value for the money.

5th gen just didn't have anything standing out except for Type-SH' ATTS which the heat came down after everyone realized it causes alot of hassle, and LSD on base is better route to go and it also saves money that way.

NiMaDiFoB · 02-21-2005, 06:08 PM

pretty much everything started dying around that time too.... skyline, silvia, supra? just to name a few...

NoRice4U · 02-21-2005, 08:17 PM

because the prelude sucked

PininFarina456 · 02-21-2005, 10:23 PM

too much of an SUV craze!!!

racinghonda · 02-22-2005, 01:54 AM

In Australia, the 5th gen was outselling the Integras and Civic coupes. Until the Integra Type-R arrived on our shores. The ITR sold very very well. The lude is a totally different beast to the other honda's. I would rate its competitors to be cars like the BMW 325Ci, Alfa 156 etc. Its a luxury sports coupe, don't think it was ever intended to be an out and out sports car. IMO it handles better than any other FWD Honda (aside from ITR), not necessarily quicker, but its a well tied together chassis.

hwani.h22a. · 02-22-2005, 01:58 AM

We probably would see 6th gen prelude if 5th gen was successful...
only if 5th gen was around 2800pds with type-s motor and lsd up front.... i won't even ask for ssm.

mporreca01 · 02-22-2005, 02:19 AM

If you look in the $$$ range there were cars that packed more bang for the buck. I think this turned a lot of people away, especially with the V6 accord as mentioned above.

hwani.h22a. · 02-22-2005, 03:02 AM

yep. reason why I bought 6th gen accord v6 instead of lude....
but now I bought lude so ... I should stop talking like i don't like preludes and just admit i like 'em.

Jon Like Wh0a · 02-22-2005, 03:04 AM

integra's and civic's were more attractive and were also cheaper especiially with fast and furious..yuck

h22 bb6 · 02-22-2005, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiMaDiFoB

pretty much everything started dying around that time too.... skyline, silvia, supra? just to name a few...

Cars like the Supra, RX-7 TT, VR-4, etc. were all overpriced. Thats why they died out.

hwani.h22a. · 02-22-2005, 10:27 AM

I thought supra and RX-7 was successful in terms of sales and reputation?

we didn't even get to see a skyline's shadow in u.s...........

TimeRacer · 02-22-2005, 11:23 AM

If you do a search this has been covered plenty of times over. But it comes down to the bottom line: The Prelude in the 5th gen form NEVER sold more than 1000 units a year in Japan. Honda saw this, and decided to kill it over the Integra which was in the same market.