Kickin It Old School: 1989 Honda Prelude Si AWS
In 1987 Road and Track Magazine tested Honda’s new Prelude 2.0Si and found that it outperformed every other car (included Ferrari 328, Porsche 911, C4 Corvette) that year on the 700-ft slalom with a speed of 65.5 mph. How could a front-wheel-drive Japanese sports coupe out slalom all of the the wide/sticky tire equipped competition? It cheated. The 2.0Si introduced the world’s first active four wheel steering system (called 4WS) for any mass produced car — and turned the little prelude into a cone killing machine by swinging the rear wheels around like a forklift. Fast forward a few years and you don’t see these things around much more, but I think they should become collectable sometime in the future. Find this 1989 Honda Prelude Si AWS offered for $5800 in Newark, CA via craigslist. Tip from Matt V.
From the seller:
1989 honda prelude si
fuel: gas
odometer: 150000
title status: clean
transmission: manual
Selling my dads classic Honda prelude si AWS (all wheel steering) 5 speed transmission it has only 150k original miles he had it since 1993 he’s the second owner adult driven never abused and completely stockThe car is still running like new it was well taken care of mechanically always serviced at Honda it never missed an oil change since he had it
He just did the timing belt clutch was done about 60k miles ago just changed all fluids brand new shocks brand new tires it can use some brake pads other then that the car is running perfect and very strong it doesn’t leak any fluids no over heating no weird noises
Everything working in the car amazingly cold ac strong heater both windows work all the door panels are in good condition sunroof opens and closes no leaks in the sunroof
The clear coat is peeling and needs to be done and has a some damage on the drive side that isn’t to bad other then that the car is amazing
Just passed smog title In hand the registration is good until this December so there is no back fees at the moment
Feel free to call or text me at any time LOW OFFERS WILL GET IGNORED
I bought an ’88 AWS Prelude Si with 112k miles on it and put another 100k miles on it, never needing anything beyond replacing the timing belt and brake pads. Absolutely phenomenal reliability other than a rare tendency to not restart for a few minutes if still hot. I shoehorned some 225 width Falken tires onto those 14″ rims and owned all the twisty roads, off ramps and on ramps.
Fun Mustang anecdote: I was exiting at high speed from Interstate 4 in Orlando on a decreasing radius 270 degree roundabout with a jackass Mustang GT hot on my bumper for no justified reason. About 180 degrees into the turn I watched him in my rear view mirror slide off the road in a truly epic wave of mud as he launched sideways into the rain drenched grassy median. Funny thing was, that’s how I always drove my Prelude whether or not someone was trying to push my buttons. I’ve owned a lot of great sports cars before and after but none ever had the same level of intimate feedback for the road.
It’s difficult now as a middle aged man to resist the cliche of once again owning the cars of my youth, so I need to ignore this one. God help me if an even remotely affordable 240z appears locally …