Re: 1965 Bentley T-Type
I see that I never really responded about the Prelude, so thank you for nudging this discussion back onto the charts.
At the time I was a huge fan of the late-80s Honda designs, and particularly the Prelude and Civic/CRX, with their low bonnetlines and sporting interiors. I still am, and can imagine examples of those cars, and perhaps the contemporary Accord Aerodeck joining my everyman's lottery garage/museum.
The early '90s bought quite a radical shift in styling, and I had a hard time reconciling the bolder new Prelude with the relatively restrained styling of its predecessor. I actually owned a '91 Prelude and loved the visibility, the smooth, high-revving 2.0 16V engine, agility of the mechanical 4WS system and the comfortable. relatively spacious interior. Over time I've grown to like the next model along, with its almost American-style nose, tail-lights somewhat reminiscent of an early XJS and the snug-fitting interior with its wraparound dashboard and 'Tokyo skyline at night' illumination. But at the time, I remember seeing these new Hondas and not handling the changes well at all. Remember the Civic gaining an odd split-tailgate, and the homely CRX Del Sol with its 914-style targa top?
Clearly someone thought people like me might be won back with the conservative, retrospective final generation, but it wasn't to be. That car had a very bland interior and seemed larger to no good effect in terms of packaging, visibility or practicality. A Honda dealer tried to persuade me into one, but I took a test drive and was underwhelmed. They're fairly rare here, as buyers could have an Accord Euro for similar or less money and why not enjoy a more contemporary-looking machine with a fine interior, saloon practicality and comparable performance & handling?
So in the end I don't think that particular Prelude would have benefitted with a stereotypical 'drivers car' interior, it was more about me reconciling the shift in design with what went before.
Perhaps a timely prod in the direction of the new Mulsanne last month would have bought you more readers, but there's still a window for when the drive stories come out for the new Bentley.
