CAR TWEET STORY TIME:
Remember the Honda Prelude? Millennials won't unless they're into ＡＥＳＴＨＥＴＩＣ & imagine the world in lavender shades. Older Americans remember it as "#1 Best Handling Car Under $30k", only for racer thugs to steal its engine to jam into their Civics.

OTOH people my age probably remember the 4th gen as the first car they bought in Gran Turismo 1's quest mode since all the strategy guides said it's the best used car to buy with your money when starting out.

For me, I was fortunate to have a 'lude as my first car IN REAL LIFE.

Getting the car made sense to me at the time: import tuner culture was just ramping up, & used 4th gen Preludes were, although pricey, sporty from the start. And compared to other brands, Honda had a reputation as a reliable AND fun car brand.

And believe me, I had HELLA fun.

I took it everywhere, from carving bay area mountains while bumping latin freestyle & ska-punk & chiptunes along the way, to going straight to LA & back THEN driving to Oregon & back… just 'cause I wanted to. That 'lude made me LOVE driving.

Plus it had a FUTURE Star Trek dash!

But eventually I moved to Japan & no longer have my car (as much as I still tried to hold onto it, it's hard to maintain things when it's across the ocean). But since paying off my student loans & now living a debt-free life, I'm once again in the market for a fun 90s sports car.

But here's the thing: market conditions & people's tastes are different from one another. I found out Honda Preludes, specifically the 4th gen, sold TERRIBLY in the Japanese market.

Moreso, the Prelude name itself inherited a weirdly shady reputation it could never shake off.

I first thought "why did Japanese people avoid Preludes? I mean, it wasn't a best seller in US compared to the Accord or Civic, & people did wish for RWD… but they were respectably fast & fun, right!?"

Then, I learned of the dreaded word 「デートカー」, aka "Date Car".

But what exactly is a "Date Car"?

For that, we'd have to go back to the 1980s during Japan's "Bubble Economy". Japanese companies were flush with capital, and car companies in Japan were especially riding high as they danced all over America's own godawful "Malaise Era" cars.

Japanese car companies were finally wanting to go upmarket & take on more niche demographics — with Honda in particular on the 2nd gen Prelude. They wanted to corner the single young male demographic with a sleek coupe filled with novelties meant to make men attractive to women.

For instance, the 2nd gen Prelude had a very sleek design for a boxy-era car, & it was one of the very first Japanese cars to have pop-up headlights & a moonroof. And yet, it was affordable enough so that any sports car buyer would go "I can have this sleek thing for so little!?"

But the Prelude was always meant as a world car with little differentiation between markets. As the world was still reeling over the 1970s oil crisis & Japan itself had strict tax tiers based on car/engine size, this meant it still only had modest power despite looking sporty.

So this meant the car got slotted into its own unique tier in Japan: a 2-door coupe that's not necessarily powerful nor fast, but still sleek-looking & filled with impressive-looking tech… and yet cheap enough for young single guys to afford.

And thus, the Date Car was born.

But of course, Honda wasn't the only company to approach this market; Toyota had the Soarer, and Nissan shortly afterwards introduced the S13 Silvia (yes, THAT S13).

So what made the 2nd generation Prelude the #1 notorious "Date Car" in Japan of all shady reasons?
THIS feature.

Normally in 2-door sports coupe with rear seats, the side seat levers are pointed outwards towards the incoming passenger for THEM to pull the seat forward & access the rear.

But in a 2nd gen Prelude?
NO! Let's instead give the driver full access to the passenger's recliner!

I was trying to figure a logical reason for this, and all I could think of is it lets the driver stay inside while they allow a passenger first access to the… tiny… back… seat?

Japanese people weren't fooled though; they nicknamed it 「スケべレバー」, aka the "Pervert Lever".

As a side note, the Toyota Soarer also had its passenger seat's side recline lever pointing towards the driver. but reclining in a Soarer is done by motors… which take time.

Since the Prelude's "pervert lever" is manually controlled, that makes the driver's "job" very quick.

Now you fellas might think, "Who the heck would use a tiny af Prelude to get freaky in? That's what the bench seats in our ol' Caprices are for!?"

Ahh, but see: you're an American! Your big ol' American cars never stood a chance in Japan, and thus nanpa dudes made do with this.

See, maybe if us yanks looked back on that pervert lever with Y2K eyes, sure… we could see the Xzibit Pimp My Ride slant & imply it's a feature for "BANGIN HOz".

But this is 80s socially conservative Japan we're talking about: this was a bad look in the average consumer's eyes.

But that didn't mean the 2nd gen Prelude sold poorly. In fact, it was one of the best-selling 2-door coupes! An innovative, cheap-to-own, yet high-quality product will still sell.

Regardless, shady reputations will eventually mar an image, as 3rd gen sales wouldn't be as great.

But how about those young single men entranced by the 2nd gen Prelude's lore in the first place? Well, the "pervert lever" reputation started shying even those guys away from it.

So instead, Japanese guys bought S13 Silvias as their more subtle attractions for impressing ladies.

Regardless, the 2nd gen's "pervert lever" carried on through the 3rd and 4th JDM models. But although Honda still kept that "coveted" feature through 4th gen, they also wanted to finally break its Date Car reputation and make the Prelude a more competitive sports coupe worldwide.

The curvy 4th gen Prelude pushed its width wider, and was now offered with a big VTEC engine — though still a four-banger. Still FWD too. It gained weight too.

So how were US sales?
Definitely not 2nd/3rd gen levels, but still decent enough.

But how about in Japan?

DISASTROUS.

The thing was that pushing it wider AND bumping its engine size up to 2.2l ended up shoving the JDM Prelude into "luxury car tax" territory… which is bad place to be in if your mid-tier FWD sports coupe meant to duel with Silvias is now sharing the ring with SKYLINES and SUPRAS.

Worse yet, the Prelude had competition even within its own pack. Unlike in America where it was treated as Honda's "halo car" and Acura kept its conflicting luxury models at bay, the JDM Prelude shared its Honda Verno showroom space with not only the Integra, but also… the NSX.

And as much as it tried to take itself more seriously, the Prelude name being soiled from its 2nd gen "Date Car" roots now haunted the 4th gen from potential Japanese buyers. As for the "young single male" market? The Bubble Economy bursted — they don’t wanna pay that luxury tax!

So the JDM 4th gen Prelude sold poorly & gained little prestige. But the slaughterhouse didn't end there! It was extra disastrous when they started failing Shaken exams. Why continue to pay the upkeep on some heavy FWD "luxury" date car over fixing an equally-tiered Mk. IV Supra?

Inevitably, many 4th gen JDM Preludes that HAD sold & were now failing Shaken were crushed or sent to Russia/Australia. Seeing a used 4th gen Prelude in Japan is like seeing a unicorn. In fact you're equally likely to see a Mitsubishi Eclipse in Japan… A LEFT-HAND-ONLY CAR!!

But why did Honda push themselves into that position in the first place?

Remember: the Prelude was also meant to be a "world car". Competition between sport coupes in US were starting to heat up. And USDM Preludes often had a more favorable position in US car insurance premiums.

I mean granted… Honda still tried to push the Date Car ideal for their international ads by featuring couples and girls sliding on sexy lingerie for Mr. Driver to stare at. But at least the rest of the world accepted that imagery (as opposed to backfiring on Honda Japan's face).

Moreso, unlike in Japan where a good majority of the population considers owning a car a luxury, everyone in US (save for Manhattan) NEEDS a car in order to get anywhere public transit can't.

So, who ended up also buying these "date car" Preludes in America?

Ironically, women.

But I'm not talking about just car enthusiast women. Rather: working Janes who need wheels & want something sportier than a family car, yet still be practical & livable.

Then again, this IS the same demographic who'd also buy Mercury Cougars, Cavalier coupes, and… V6 Mustangs.

Here's food for thought BTW: Before I sold it, I had one of my first kisses with my bf inside my Prelude. With ME on the driver's seat. So I guess it really did succeed as a Date Car.

But since it's a USDM 4th gen, we had no pervert levers. The car was more of a chasity belt.

Of course by the time late 90s rolled in, Americans were ditching sports coupes for SUVs. By the time the 5th gen Prelude came & got the formula right, suddenly the Accord Coupe popped in with sexy looks AND better practicality. "Best-Handling Car Under $30k" can only go so far.

In Japan, the 5th gen Prelude's even more powerful engine & performance novelties made it sell a bit more than the 4th. But it was still heavy, still FWD, still luxury tax tier… & still with THAT rep. So while Nissan soldiered the Silvia on with the S15, THIS was the last 'lude.

It was such an unfortunate end. Of course it didn't help that SUVs in America were killing off sport coupes in general, but the last Prelude models in Japan seemed like a victim of trying to accommodate all markets with the same model AND being heckled from a soiled reputation.

I think that's the thing about 4th gen Preludes in Japan. I definitely don't think it was a bad car at all (in fact it's still my favorite car). But its tax tier + inherited reputation turned off a lot of Japanese people. You have to be a DEDICATED fan to keep one on the road.

That's why I'm so excited whenever I see survivor 4th gens roll around. Unmolested USDM ones are already scarce to begin with, but the JDM versions are the TRUE endangered ones.

So shoutouts to awesome 4th gen fans like @valsound keeping them around & relevant in Japan.

Speaking of @valsound, fans should check out his car site:
http://valsound.fc2web.com/car/index.html 

He's a LONG-TIME 4th gen fan in Japan who takes lots of nice photos of local meetups. I knew of his site for a long time too — whoud've known we'd meet through common ground: Chiptunes & Preludes.

So would I get another 4th gen 'lude?
In US, maybe. It certainly was the funnest daily, and I wouldn't mind it being my weekday car again while an '06 Pontiac GTO becomes my hooner indulgence.

In Japan? Uhh… well I don't care about reputation. But I DO care about luxury taxes!