Car owners manuals, booklets and guides

Honda Prelude Owners Manual

The Honda Prelude is a sports coupe produced by Japanese automaker Honda from 1978 until 2001. It replaced the Honda S800, a front-engined, rear-wheel drive sports car. The two-door coupe spanned five generations and was eventually discontinued upon the release of the fifth-generation Honda Integra or Acura RSX Type-S in North America in late 2001 as well as the release of the Honda S2000 in early 1999, due to its decreasing sales and popularity. In the U.S. auto market, the sixth-generation and subsequent Accord Coupes became the de facto replacement for the Prelude. The other Honda Prelude one should consider is the fourth-generation model, which was sold for the 1992-'96 model years. A complete overhaul of the previous model, this Prelude was slightly shorter, much wider and a far better-handling car. The S trim featured a 135-hp 2.2-liter SOHC four-cylinder. The Si had a 160-hp 2.3-liter DOHC four-cylinder with a healthy 156 pound-feet of torque. From 1993 on, the fourth-generation Prelude could also be had in range-topping Si VTEC trim, which brought a 2.2-liter 190-hp DOHC four equipped with Honda's electronic variable valve timing (VTEC) system. A four-wheel-steering system was available in 1992-'93, though only on the Si model. The Prelude's perennial competitor has been the Toyota Celica, another straight-4-powered coupe introduced several years prior to the Prelude. Throughout the 1980s, the Prelude was challenged by the Nissan Silvia, Isuzu Impulse, Mitsubishi FTO, Mitsubishi Cordia (later the Eclipse), Opel Manta/Opel Calibra, Ford Probe and Mazda MX-6. Out of all of these contemporaries, the Eclipse is the only car that remains in production.