Believe: Driving the new Honda Prelude
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Concept
two-door coupé
A two-door coupé is a car with two doors and a sporty shape. These cars usually look sleek and are designed for performance.
Car
Nissan 200 SX
The Nissan 200 SX is a small sports car that was made in the late '80s and '90s. It's known for being fun to drive and has a design that many car fans appreciate. People talk about it because it was a cool car for those who liked sporty vehicles.
Car
Ford Probe
The Ford Probe is a type of car made by Ford that was designed to be sporty and stylish. It was popular in the late 80s and 90s.
Car
Ford Cougar
The Ford Cougar is a car made by Ford that was known for being sporty and stylish. It came out in the late 90s.
Car
Peugeot 406 Coupé
The Peugeot 406 Coupé is a stylish two-door car made by Peugeot. It was known for looking good and being fun to drive.
Car
Renault Laguna Coupé
The Renault Laguna Coupé is a car made by Renault that has two doors and is known for being comfortable and stylish. It was made in the late 2000s.
Car
Alfa Romeo GTV
The Alfa Romeo GTV is a sporty car from Italy that is known for looking good and being fun to drive.
Car
Fiat Coupe
The Fiat Coupe is a small, sporty car made by Fiat, recognized for its unique design and enjoyable driving experience.
Car
Toyota Solara
The Toyota Solara is a car made by Toyota that comes in coupe and convertible styles, and it's known for being reliable and comfortable to drive.
Car
Mercedes-Benz W124
The W124 is a model of Mercedes-Benz cars made between the mid-1980s and late 1990s. It's known for being well-built and reliable, and it comes in different styles like sedans and coupés.
Car
Acura CL
The Acura CL is a fancy two-door car that was made for people who want something sporty and stylish. It has nice features and a comfortable ride, making it a good choice for those who like luxury cars. People talk about it because it's a unique option in the luxury car market.
Car
Mercedes-Benz CL
The CL is a luxury coupé from Mercedes-Benz made from the late 1990s to the mid-2010s. It is known for being stylish and powerful, often featuring advanced technology and comfort.
Term
four-wheel steering
Four-wheel steering means that not just the front wheels, but also the back wheels can turn. This helps the car handle better and turn more easily.
Term
VTEC
VTEC is a technology used in Honda engines that helps them run better at different speeds. It changes how the engine's valves work to give more power when needed.
Car
Honda Preludes
The Honda Prelude is a two-door car that was made for many years and is known for being fun to drive. It has a special engine feature called VTEC that helps it go faster and use less fuel. People talk about it because it was a cool car that many people loved.
Term
aftermarket wheels
Aftermarket wheels are wheels that you buy separately from the car maker. People often choose them to make their car look better or to improve how it drives.
Term
dropped
When a car is 'dropped', it means the suspension is lowered, making the car sit closer to the ground. This can make the car look cooler and handle better.
Car
Toyota MR2
The Toyota MR2 is a small sports car that was made for people who love to drive fast. It has a unique design where the engine is in the middle of the car, which helps it handle well. People talk about it because it's fun to drive and looks different from other cars.
Term
bolster
A bolster is the part of a car seat that supports your body from the sides. Taller bolsters help keep you secure while driving, especially when turning sharply.
Term
cushion
The cushion is the padding in the car seat that you sit on. A harder cushion can help you feel more supported while driving, while a softer one is usually more comfortable for long trips.
Car
Nissan R35 Gtr
The Nissan GT-R (R35) is a fast sports car that many people admire for its speed and technology. It's designed for performance and has a unique look that stands out on the road.
Car
Nissan Ariya
The Nissan Ariya is a new electric SUV from Nissan. It's designed to be stylish and tech-savvy, making it a competitor to other electric cars on the market.
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Tata Arias
The Tata Motors Aria is a big family car that can carry a lot of people and things. It was made to be comfortable and safe for everyday use. People talk about it because it's a practical choice for families in some countries.
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Volkswagen Id Buzz
The Volkswagen ID. Buzz is a new electric van that looks like the old VW buses from the past. It's designed to be roomy and has cool technology inside, making it a fun choice for families. People talk about it because it's a modern take on a classic car and is good for the environment.
Car
Arias
The Arias is a car made by Nissan that is not commonly seen, making it a rare find for car enthusiasts.
Car
Leaf
The Leaf is an electric car made by Nissan that is known for being eco-friendly and efficient. A 'new Leaf' suggests there is a newer version of this car available now.
Car
Renault 5
The Renault 5 is a small car made by Renault, popular in Europe. It has a unique look and was made from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s.
Car
Nissan Micra
The Nissan Micra is a small car made by Nissan, designed for easy driving in cities. It's been around since the early 1980s and is known for being economical.
Car
Renault 4
The Renault 4 is a compact car made by Renault that was produced for over three decades. It's known for being practical and easy to drive, making it a popular choice for families.
Car
Mercedes-Benz Mercedesbenz Ew
The Mercedes-Benz E 500 is a high-end car that was made in the early '90s and is known for being powerful and comfortable. It's a four-door sedan that many people admire for its quality and classic look. People talk about it because it's a well-made car that's still appreciated today.
Car
Honda Civic
The Honda Civic is a small car that many people use for everyday driving. It's known for being reliable and saving gas, which makes it a popular choice. People often talk about it because it's a good car that works well for lots of different drivers.
Car
Chevy Volt
The Chevy Volt is a car that can run on electricity and gasoline. It was designed to help reduce fuel use and emissions.
Car
BMW X5
The BMW X5 is a fancy SUV that people like because it drives well and has a lot of nice features. It's bigger than a regular car, so it can carry more people and things. People talk about it because it's a popular choice for those who want something stylish and comfortable.
Car
Volvo XC90
The Volvo XC90 is a big, fancy SUV that's designed to be safe and comfortable for families. It has a lot of space inside and nice features, making it a popular choice for those who want a luxury vehicle. People talk about it because it's known for being very safe.
Car
Kia Soul
The Kia Soul is a small, boxy car that has a lot of room inside for people and things. It's known for its fun look and is a good choice for people who want something different. People talk about it because it's practical and affordable.
Car
Toyota Celica
The Toyota Celica is a small sports car that was made for many years and is known for being fun to drive. It has a sporty look and was popular among people who liked racing. People talk about it because it was a cool car with a lot of history.
Car
Land Rover Range Rover
The Range Rover is a high-end SUV that can drive well on tough roads and looks very nice inside. It's popular among people who want a car that feels luxurious but can also handle rough conditions. People often mention it because it's a symbol of luxury and adventure.
Car
Honda Crvs
The Honda CR-V is a small SUV that's great for families because it has lots of space inside. It's known for being dependable and saving gas, making it a smart choice for everyday use. People talk about it because it's practical and works well for many drivers.
Car
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is a sporty car that looks cool and goes really fast. It's been around for a long time and is known for being powerful, making it popular among car lovers. People often mention it because it's a classic American muscle car.
Car
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a popular sports car in the U.S. It's known for being fast and stylish, making it a favorite among car enthusiasts.
Car
Honda Crxs
The Honda CRX is a small car that was made a long time ago and is known for being light and fun to drive. People liked it because it was easy on gas and had a sporty feel. It's talked about because it has a special place in car history.
Car
Honda Accords
The Honda Accord is a larger car that many people use for everyday driving. It's known for being safe and reliable, which makes it a good choice for families. People talk about it because it's a solid car that works well for lots of different needs.
Car
2008 Honda Accord Euro R
The Honda Accord Euro R is a special version of the Accord that was made for the Japanese market. It's known for being sportier and more powerful than regular Accords.
Car
Porsche Taycan
The Porsche Taycan is a high-performance electric car that combines luxury with speed. It's known for being very fast and has a modern design.
LIVE
This episode is sponsored by Duramat Interlocking Floor Tiles.
I'm Johnny Smith. I'm its reporter.
And this is Smith & Sniff, a podcast on which two friends talk about cars and many other
things.
Hi.
Hi. It's a slightly different show again. Two weeks ago, we were on our airplane. So
when I say airplane, aeroplane, we were on an aeroplane. And we didn't say why, because
we were sort of trying to be secret and masters of secrecy.
Well, also because it's one of these things. It's a car industry thing. We were going
on a car launch, but then the car we were going to look at was under embargo. So we
were allowed to talk about it.
We're sat in it.
We're now sat in it. And this is Johnny, if you will.
Don't fuck about my senior Honda Praloodia 2026.
2026.
2026.
2026.
Two door coupé, got like an engine under the bonnet and everything.
This is quite an exciting moment because obviously car manufacturers don't really make two door
coupés much. You've got to discount supercars and stuff.
Yeah.
But like regular performance, regular sized, regular money, cost your mind back, let's
say 30 years, you'd have been able to buy almost 15 of these, but that was, I think
that was sort of peak modern era coupé in that there was the Pralood, Salika, 200 SX.
Yeah.
Is that still that point or 240?
No, it was.
200 SX was around, yeah.
Probe.
Yeah.
About to become the Cougar.
Yes.
406 coupé was on its way, but not then.
Oh yeah.
We were going to get a Laguna coupé coming.
So and then we got the Alphas, Calibra or Calibra, GTV, Fiat Coupe.
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
Shit, we were flooded.
Flooded?
Europe, certainly.
But I guess the US as well, because then you had over there, you had things like the Toyota
Solara, no relation to the Tolbert.
Just as dull.
Just as dull.
Just better made.
And, well, I suppose the Mercedes are always models, W124 coupé still at that point, pre-CLK,
plus the big CL still, or what was it called at that point, SEC still?
No.
No.
It was CL.
CL.
Yeah.
There were a lot of coupés in a lot of different sizes, but also just a lot of sort of affordable
front wheel drive coupés.
Yeah.
Wasn't there?
And now there are almost none.
Almost none.
And this is the sixth gen.
Gen sixth, yeah.
So like gen one, eyes like a frog, yeah.
Gen two, box the four-wheel steer, your favourite.
No, that was gen three.
Oh, shit.
What was gen two then?
Gen two was the one that the gen three looked like a sort of stretched gen two, similar
style, but just sort of updated and longer.
And that was the one that had four-wheel steering, mechanical four-wheel steering, but if unusual,
but quite radical at the time.
Yeah, I used to work with a guy on a, my first job was a journal, and he was a journalist
for the Harley-Davidson V-Twin magazine, and his winter car, when he was just like,
I'm not riding to work today on the Harley, because he's black ice everywhere.
He had a four-wheel steer prelude.
Shit.
And he was a giant of a man, like six foot seven, he looked like a bear.
Oh.
Yeah.
He was big into it.
He very, very much waxed lyrical about the four-wheel steer prelude, but didn't sound
like prelude, man.
So, my favorite prelude from a looks point of view, I think was the fourth one, the Hawkeye.
Yeah, very elongated eyes.
Which looked shorter, the front to back, and sort of more dynamic.
Yeah.
And you could still have four-wheel steering, and you could have V-Tec, and is that not the
shape of preludes that your old housemates, the infamous two point doom, of you wearing
that hat?
Yeah, that was that one, because it looked really good on aftermarket wheels when it had
been dropped.
Yes.
Yes.
It just had very good body proportions, it just related itself well.
And then the one that came after that was the one with the happy eyes, I don't know.
Yeah, it was a bit sort of bland, wasn't it?
It almost looked like a more of a saloon that had just been chopped into a coupe.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It was...
Had a last-gen MR2 face, where it didn't look sporty enough for what it's credentials
might have been.
Yes, yes, I know what you mean.
So, and then that was it, 25 years of no preludes, and now we are back into a new era of preludes.
So we've spent today driving this car around.
If you want to see a proper review of it, go to the late break show, it is both of us
driving around.
Proper.
In inverted commas.
Yeah, proper.
If you want to see an attempt to see a review, then that's on the late break show now, because
today, 27th of October, is when Honduras said, right, you can talk about, they're trying
to be fair, aren't they?
And people sort of ask, why do car reviews and why do car Lord Sabbath bar goes on?
Part of the reason is they're trying to be fair, it's not like they're trying to control
the media per se, but what they're trying to say is, look, we can't have all of you.
No.
Down here at the same time.
And so, if you're like Britain, or you're like Norway's leading car magazine, and they
go, right, you are on the fourth, yeah, exactly, and they'll go, wait a sec, hang on, but you've
had auto car and auto express in the UK down on day one, and they've already published
their reviews.
Most of our readers can read English, and they now know what the preludes like.
You've screwed us over.
So let's try and make it fair, they go, look, everybody, come on down, you will drive the
car, but if you could all just agree not to release your findings until the 27th of October,
and it's just to sort of try and keep everybody sweet.
So I think if Honda UK had a witterlet Harpal do the press release for this car, like billboards
levels old school, I think it would just be like, new prelude, believe, full stop.
Well, the reason that we're here together is because the main PR guy from Honda listens
to the podcast.
Yeah, thank you.
And he was most insistent that we both came on this event.
When is the shoehorn our diaries together?
Because he knows how much we're always wanging on about preludes.
So I suppose that counts as good PRing that he's gone, well, I mean, if I can't harness
these two idiots and they're constantly mentioning of a model we don't make anymore, but now
we do, I'm going to jump on this as an opportunity.
I mean, I'm very happy to be part of part of the first, first, what will they call it?
I think it was called a rotation, first rotation of international launches.
We're in the we're actually sitting in Nice airport.
Yes.
So if you hear sort of sirens that sound foreign, that's the reason we're not on set for the
newborn identity film.
And then we could, if we're in the prelude, we get away, definitely get away from the
local police.
Well, so yeah, we can talk about this now.
And like I said, go to the late break show if you want to see a proper video review,
but this would be a drive around this all day.
And it's a very nice car.
It's, it's a car that's definitely one of those Hondas that's born out of Honda obsession.
Because the seminar we were in this morning, the kind of press seminar spoke of such detail
of so many things, so many elements of the car, which most people might never notice.
It's the different front seats that gets me.
Yeah.
So these seats are asymmetric.
They look identical, I think nearly.
Right.
Because I suppose, supposedly, look at your, the driver's seat is supposed to have a taller
bolster on it.
Yeah.
And it does as well.
It does.
So it is.
It's more, more bolstered in the cushion and the cushion is harder on the driver's
seat.
So passenger seat for comfort, driver's seat for driving pleasure.
So you're more, you're, you're held in better in the driver's seat, I suppose the idea being
that you would throw the car around more when you're on your own.
And how bloody obsessive is that?
Well, it just means, doesn't it?
It's different.
Yeah.
You've got to then make different seats for right and left hand drive.
Yeah.
So it's sort of, it's more expensive, I would say.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And for sure.
Complicated and just, and no one will really notice that much unless they have it pointed
out to them.
But the design, the design language of the car, you know, just want to rewind, like get,
when you look at it from the outside, yeah, like profile, such a fast back, yeah, it really
flows away for me.
It looks like fucking things going to take off.
Yeah.
And then when I spoke to one of the design guys, it's because it's supposed to look like
it could take off because the, what did they say?
The guide.
I've got it written down.
The guiding sort of design philosophy started with a glider aircraft.
Exterior design is inspired by the timeless grace and elegance of gliders while the compelling
combination of engaging, handling and dynamics is reminiscent of an acrobatic flight on that
side of things.
Interesting.
Yeah.
So that's, I mean, it's funny that they sort of take inspiration from a machine that doesn't
have an engine.
But I get the point, I suppose, they're sort of very, they are elegant, aren't they?
It is.
Yeah.
And it is a very simple, they could have over, over complicated this design really easily.
But in the same way that I think the Honda E was a distinctive shape, but it didn't have
much fuss about it.
This doesn't have much fuss about it at all.
I kind of like that about it.
Yeah.
It's quite subtle, isn't it?
But it's also quite clean, which is good because car designers got quite busy.
It's a clean example of the mark.
It's a clean example of the mark.
Is it not?
I find the front a little duck faced.
Yeah.
We've both, we've been looking at it all day.
We've both sort of got the same opinion.
The rump is the favourite bit.
Back end's really good.
Yeah.
Almost quite American light bar.
Yeah.
That pokes out from the flat deck.
Front is down pointy and a bit beaky.
Bit beaky, a little bit broken nosey, and then actually it's sort of more dramatic than the
windscreen is actually sort of given how reg the rear screen is, the windscreen is surprisingly
upright.
Yeah.
Do you know the glass house looks a little bit like the R35 Skyline, R35 GTR, where it's
it really tapers back, but it's quite wide and open at the front.
Yeah.
And I always like that about the R35.
It's been, I don't know if you know, it's just gone out of production along with the
turning Jenny.
So valve radio.
Yes.
To commemorate the abolition of the window tax, the GTR has gone out of production.
They did a commercial version, just to push it along a bit further down the road.
This, we were talking, we stopped at these car lodges, they go, OK, here's a route you
drive along this, and then you get to this point here, and there'll be some lunch and
a coffee and what haven't.
So we got to this place where that was happening, and there were changed to another couple of
car journos that we know, and your pitch for how Nissan could sell more Arias there, not
successful electric SUV.
Your idea was to make a commercial vehicle version, which you've just boarded over the
back window.
Oh, kick the back windows out.
Oh, sorry.
Forgive me.
Just live with it.
Forgive me.
You've kicked the back windows in and then put plywood over it so that it looks like an
abandoned block of flats.
Yes.
Yeah.
And then you sell it for a little bit cheaper because it's commercial.
Yeah.
It's got a long range, but I think it's got a longer range than the I.D. Buzz.
Yeah, I'm sure it has.
And so you could just go, right, let's aim this at a different market, just do something
monthly.
Because I've seen, I reckon, three privately owned Arias in four, I think it's been on sale
for four years.
I think that's one more than I've seen.
It's such a rare car on the road.
It really is, isn't it?
But, you know, it's because it's because they all we wanted was a newer leaf and they never
gave us a new leaf.
Oh, well, there is a new leaf now, isn't there, which is actually a bit more like the Arias.
So perhaps that's it.
That's they've listened.
But I like the idea that you hide us that you could be Nissan's director of commercial,
but you misunderstand the job site.
And you just insist that there's commercial versions of all their vehicles in which you
will personally kick in the windows at the back and then fly over them.
And look, where is the GTR commercial?
If it means hardly any R&D from existing designs, then you can just keep selling some stuff
because they need to sell some stuff.
So you're pulling the back seats out?
Yeah.
But then more ply, just lay down some ply?
I would, or I just get the composite guys, you know, the ones that do the bumpers and
things to just make a thing.
Would you do that by putting down some polythene sheeting and then just pouring in a load
of resin?
Oh, yeah.
Resin driveway stuff.
Yeah, resin bathroom floor.
Yeah.
Yeah, I would totally do that.
OK, so that's just...
I actually think, you know, the new Micra, which is the Renault 5's brother, which I think
looks really cool, actually, it's just I'm not sure whether people all want it as much
as the 5, but I need to drive one, I'd like to taste one.
But you have a 5 at the moment, so just drive your 5.
Well, I could drive my 5.
Of course, I've got a Nissan badge in the middle of the steering wheel.
But it's got a different, it's got a happier, they've both got happy faces, but it's got
a circular eyed face.
It almost looks like if Honda did another E, but using someone else's floor pan, it's
kind of like that.
But I had a question for you, actually, because I've just been driving a few weeks ago, I
was driving the new Renault 4, which is nice.
It's obviously it's not quite as interesting looking.
It's not as charismatic.
I like the design of it, but yes, it's not as attention-grabbing and cool, I think.
It has got a bit more room in the back, so that's good.
Yeah.
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I'm just going to turn that off now.
Same camera bingery there going on.
That's got too hot.
Oh, it's quite warm, isn't it?
Yeah, that's what it is.
Do we say this?
We're in the south.
The south of France.
Yeah, we're in the south of France.
It is nice.
Nice and nice in this, and it's hot.
It's warm.
We've told it stuff, actually, unusually warm.
It's about 22 degrees or something.
I'll take it.
Yeah, I sometimes come down here because I've got a coracle moored.
Have you?
Yeah.
Okay, next to Harry Metcalfe's boats.
Yeah, it was just a couple of boats down.
Right.
Yeah, usually I come down here in my microcar MC1.
It takes me an enormous amount of time to get down here.
By the time I'm down here, we take you about 10 days,
I'm so furious and fed up with life.
Yeah, the last thing I'll do is go on a coracle moored.
That's nice.
And then I get on a directionless, rudderless boat.
Just check.
Select the currents of the Mediterranean.
Just gently rotate you until you feel sick.
Like that, like that, like that prick from in the night garden.
He thinks it's a good idea.
At night time, when it's looking like there's a storm brewing,
just climbs into a homemade boat and lies down with a big smile on his face.
He's a silly tit, isn't he?
Silly kidney bean face.
Yeah, I know.
I like the little light that hangs over the boat.
There's something cosy about it, which I think is quite cleverly designed.
That is clever, because I think even when the storms are brewing
and those 20-foot waves are crashing around,
he's going to just stare at the light and think of a happy place.
Even though he's made the wrong decisions.
When it should have just been dashed.
He shouldn't have gone out.
Everyone said don't leave the key side and he did.
Which one's he?
He's got the cloth. He carries the cloth.
There's Macapacre, isn't there?
He's a drug dealer.
I always thought his real name is Mark Packman,
but it's just all his mates call him Macapacre and he's a drug dealer.
It's a drug dealer cos he's selling people stones.
Oh, do you want a stone?
Yeah, if you stay mates with me, I'll give you another stone.
Yeah, no.
And he lives under a bridge.
Exactly.
He's a bit no-name for suspension mountain bike, guys.
He is.
What's the night garden?
It's just a night garden, isn't it?
And a night garden.
It's a very confusing perspective and scale in that show.
Anyway, the prelude.
I think we conclude it's a very nice car.
Not sure who's going to want it,
because a lot of what is nice about it is sort of...
It's quite kind of thoughtful.
It's not immediately in your face.
It's not an Audi coupe or...
No.
Audi and Mercedes-Benz EW are still plugging away at coupes.
They're the ones who are still doing that kind of...
Well, actually, hang on. Are they doing it now?
Cos the A5 has been superseded.
So maybe they're not.
It's not of that ilk, though, is it?
No.
And that's what we were trying to say.
A hundred of stress.
They really want people to try this car
to form their own opinion.
And it's not about out-and-out firepower.
It's not actually a very fast car on paper.
But it's responsive.
And the chassis is amazing.
Because it's Civic and Civic are dampingly stuff.
Adaptive.
Civic are front struts.
Yeah.
And they were developed to try and make sure
that that car didn't suffer too badly from torque sticks.
It's got a lot of power in its front-wheel drive.
And, of course, this.
So the Prelude is adapted from the regular Civic,
which is a hybrid, but it's basically
an electric car with an on-board generator.
I think, yeah.
Like your old Chevy Volt.
Like the Chevy Volt, which I so loved, yeah.
Which is misunderstood, I think.
It was a very, very good car.
But because the electric motor in this car
is the thing that drives it almost all of the time,
you get instant torque.
300 Newton-metres.
I haven't done the maths on what that is in horse foot.
Oh, and the feet of the poundage.
The feet of the poundage.
So you sometimes clog it and you do feel it is sort of...
It doesn't ever sort of tug and veer.
So clearly those type are struts work.
But you sense that there's a fight going on downstairs.
Yeah.
So their argument for saying,
well, people say it's only 184 PS.
And Honda are going, yeah,
but it's got 350 Newton-metres all the time.
And it's got a chassis that can definitely cope with it.
And it's not a very big car, as in...
It's dimensionally smaller than the outgoing car
for its 25 years.
Apparently so. Which is slightly smaller.
Which never happened.
No.
I mean, BMW are not going to, I don't think, go.
The next X5 is smaller than this X5.
No.
Although they should.
No.
Volvo are not going to go the new XC90.
It's 13 centimetres smaller.
No, because they'll always done some market research
and somebody, some twat in Houston or something
would have gone, yeah, I kind of love my XC90,
but I wish the boot was much bigger
and they'll go with a truck.
And they'll go, should we back make the boot bigger, then?
Well, why have you made the car two feet shorter
but had a bigger boot?
Because there's no back seats.
Is it going to be back to your commercial division again?
Yeah.
Yeah, it's got an enormous boot
because I've kicked the back windows out
and then put ply over them.
I just bought a lot of residents of them.
Well, Bob tell them.
Okay.
For commercial use.
Right, yeah.
A less overhangs, but I'd smashed the back seat out.
So the other thing I think we've concluded
is that your old flatmate, Harpool,
yeah, very impressed with his cousin's old,
probably 2.2.
2.2, yeah, but...
VTEC.
Yeah.
Never seen a rev counter do what it could do, yeah.
Don't fuck...
Remind me when we did that,
when you first regaled that story,
because I actually forgot.
You...
You had told me the story once in real life
and it made me laugh a lot
and then I brought it up in an old, old, old Smith & Sniff video.
Video.
From 2019, 2020, like I think really early 2020,
I think maybe it was like,
we filmed in 2019 perhaps and put it out
just around the time that Covid was starting to creep in.
So it was one of the last visual ones.
I think it was and we were sitting in my old Land Rover
at our spiritual home of Bulldog Services
and if I had the video, if you want to go and find it.
I forgot about it.
It's just a search.
Smith & Sniff probably 2.2 on YouTube and it's on there.
And you tell the full story of the man who...
The two things about your old housemate that made me laugh.
One is his absolute belief that his cousin's fairly 2.2
was the de facto fastest car in the world.
Secondly, that he used to get so mashed up going out
on Saturday night that he would then,
in an era when mobile phones were not commonplace,
he would use his mobile phone to ring the landlide
in the house that he was in
and get you to bring him a glass of water up to his bed.
Yeah, he would.
Sometimes put the oven on to warm some potato waffles for him.
A survival hangover for him.
Potato what? Just potato waffles?
Yeah, just potato waffles.
There's like 3 or 4 of them.
3 or 4?
Yeah, then your glass of water.
Yeah, the munchies probably.
Well, yeah, but you think you'd like...
I don't know, could you not have got some fish fingers
or some nuggets and stuff?
You've got another food group in there.
It's a bit dry, isn't it?
It's a bit dry actually.
Unless you lather them with some ketchup or sauce
or some sort of gravy, I don't know.
Anyway, so yeah, since the sum up,
I don't think the prelude would find much favour
with your old housemates.
No.
But it's found favour with us in that
we both think it's quite a nice car.
I'm just not sure who's going to buy it,
but it doesn't really matter
because they're only bringing 400 into the country next year.
I mean, how mad is that?
So they're almost saying,
we know this is going to be niche.
We're bringing back the two-door coupe in this class
because we want to.
And we're going to really focus our efforts on it
and do loads of really nerdy shit,
which 85% of the people going into the show
wouldn't know about or possibly care about.
But there's enough people, we believe,
we can sell four or 500 of them a year.
Yeah.
Well, actually, if you're 400 next year,
500 next year, the following year,
they've sort of mapped this out already.
So I haven't had a chance to ask you all from Holland,
how many of these are you making in total?
Yeah.
Because...
I'm wondering if they're only making in total 5,000.
And then that's it.
But they're too modest to say this is really limited.
They don't want to look boastful.
They don't want to look like they're sort of trying to trick people
into buying it.
So they've just been really low-key.
They're going, yeah, it's a two-model year car,
and then it's gone.
Yeah.
Is it a 2.2-model year car?
2.2, yeah.
But it's not that.
It's a two-liter.
Yeah, that's one of the disappointments for us
is that it is only a two-liter.
Yeah.
It's not 2.2.
What was it?
Is it Atkins...
Atkins Cycle Engine?
It has a Gemma Atkinson Cycle Engine.
It does.
Which I...
Anyway, but I can't stop.
Sorry if you can hear on the audio.
You can hear...
Fingering the bottom.
The quality of the buttons.
This is Honda at its best.
The quality, look, that's...
Here, just go quiet so you can hear this.
Probably can't, though.
Not when there's a frigging motorbike go-by.
Oh.
Very.
There's like one millimetre of movement.
That's the air recirculation button.
Now, of course, the other thing is these are actual buttons.
There's no touchscreen control.
The quick button I'm pressing.
The AC.
Johnny was furious earlier on because he suddenly went,
it's on.
The con is on.
I can feel it.
Yeah.
And it turns out that the button that just says AC on it,
you have to press it,
and then an AC off light comes on.
Yes.
It's not entirely obvious, but, yeah,
you're spidey-set.
It's trying to make you put the con on, I guess.
Detected con, and we had to turn it off.
I was pissed right off.
But, yeah, the button quality in this car,
and the fact that there are buttons,
so the whole climate control is buttons.
But feel this.
This.
Is this the bit that's supposed to replicate the texture?
A parchment-type paper?
Yeah, traditional Japanese paper.
I can't remember what it's called.
And they've even gone for an embroidered prelude logo.
Yeah.
Instead of a badge on the dash.
On the dash strip thing there,
sort of pad full width.
Pad.
That's fucked up detail, isn't it?
Isn't it?
Oh, shit.
It smells so good.
Proper buttons on the wheel as well.
No such sensitive shit.
And there is a touchscreen, but it's not massive,
and it just does the things like now,
and it's got a car playing.
And the stepped gearbox is quite a complex beast,
but from you explaining it to me about three times,
I think I understand that the car fundamentally has a CVT,
but it's well disguised beneath several layers of tech.
Yeah.
So they've put fake steps on the CVT,
which people have done for quite a long time now.
Yeah.
And it is convincing.
But then also, so in pulse mode,
in the manual S plus shift mode,
they use the electric motor just slightly pulsed
on a pretend gear change to give a little kick
that's like you would get from a double clutch gearbox
changing on the paddles.
Yeah.
So it's all fake.
Also, a rev counter appears in sport mode,
and they were at great pains to tell us that
as the rev counter is telling you you're doing 4,000 revs,
that is really what the engine is doing,
that the bit that is faked is the fact that the engine is not
under most circumstances driving the wheels.
It is just revving as a generator.
Wow.
You're still most likely being powered along
by the electric motor,
and the onboard internal combustion generator
is just being made to sort of play along
to trick you into thinking that this is a car
with a petrol engine and a double clutch gearbox,
and in fact, it's basically an electric car
with a petrol generator and a CVT.
Yeah.
So there's this sort of degree of fakery,
but it is really well done.
And if no one told you, you might well believe.
But I don't think you would believe, believe
that it is a petrol car.
Because you hear the engine, you know, it doesn't,
we thought it didn't sound very nice,
and then really clogged it going on to the auto.
It's just an hour or so ago.
You really hammered it onto that.
And it actually sounded quite nice though.
It sounded a bit wroughty,
but you've got to really rev it out.
And of course, you're not really revving it out,
if the engine is just pretending to play along.
Unless, if you really, really need a burst of acceleration,
there are circumstances in which the engine,
the petrol engine can't be clutched into
directly to the drive, the wheels.
It's complicated, isn't it?
It is. And yet, if you were going to trust a company
to make that work reliably,
Honda Toyota would be my top pick.
Correct.
Alfa Romeo would be lower down the list.
For example, I'm looking over there at one of those
slightly wretched Maserati SUVs.
Is that Levante?
I think it is, I always go.
I care so little about that.
I care so little about that.
I'm sort of willingly, willfully scrub that.
I mean, those are Levante, isn't that?
What's the other one called?
The Greccoli.
Yeah.
Greccol.
Greccoli.
Yeah.
So anyway, there we go.
I can't, we decided this is probably a Silver Fox car, isn't it?
Yeah.
Or Silver Lady.
Or Silver Lady.
Silver Lady.
Who is that by?
Isn't that David Sol?
David Sol.
Yeah, David Sol.
May he rest in peace.
God rest his soul.
God.
I mean, he lived longer than this,
but just as COVID was coming around,
the Sunday Times had an incredibly on-the-nose idea,
which was that they would get one of their writers
to go and review the new Kia Soul with David Sol.
What?
And since he lived quite near where I lived at that point in London,
they asked if I would do it,
and I went, isn't that a bit on the nose?
And they went, no, it could be fun.
And then I was like, okay, well, look,
I don't know, arrange a time and I'll, you know,
I can do that, I suppose.
And then they went, right, yeah.
We just trust what David has,
like I don't know if he had an emphysema or something like that.
He was quite unwell.
He had some kind of lung condition.
Oh, sugar, right.
And they were just like, yeah,
it's just got to be a bit careful, obviously,
because there's this whole COVID-19 thing,
which people are saying is quite bad for those
who've got respiratory problems.
And I just go, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
I will not be responsible for the death
of half of Starsky and Hertz.
No, no, no.
Not on my watch.
No.
Not doing it.
And then thankfully, I think the agent went,
yeah, he can't be exposed to just randoms
coming along with a small Korean car
and giving him a fatal disease.
So it all went away.
But it's a shame in a way
because I could have asked him to sing Silver League.
I was going to say you could have.
And so this could be
the replacement
for Celica Lady's
long-lost Celica,
or if she's been stringing it out all these years.
Yes.
Oh, yeah.
And Toyota haven't yet delivered.
She doesn't particularly want the GR86.
No, too sporty.
Too sporty.
She wants something a little bit more refined,
but it has got kick if you want it.
That's the thing.
It's got a bit of pep.
You can put it into all of its sportier settings.
I wouldn't say it's aggressively setting.
There's certainly no type R.
And there never has been a prelude type R.
I don't imagine I'll change that with this.
This is sort of halfway house.
Yeah.
It's more dynamic than a regular Civic,
but it's not a type R by any means.
And that's probably about right
because in its gentlest mode,
it's a lovely, easy listening sort of car.
You've got sort of grade
Olivia Newton-John
wearing tennis gear,
getting into this.
Yeah, yeah.
To go to the tennis club.
Then there's a fate she's got to rush to.
Yeah.
And then a gallery opening for Valerie's gallery.
A friend of Valerie's got a new gallery.
Well, I think-
And I think-
Support it.
And then she's realised that by the time she's been there,
she's just got a watercolour class.
Oh, shit.
On a Thursday evening.
So she's got to get that.
She's a busy lady.
Bloody busy.
So she needs a bit of speed sometimes.
Yeah.
But equally,
doesn't want to just hose money away on petrol.
And so this sort of potters around quite happily and electric.
I mean, if you were to,
because you have to pay for all the colours apart from black.
Well, there's only four colours.
There's only four colours.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's not that many colours, it's a bit stingy,
but the white is the one for me.
It's very pearl white.
Very.
Very pearl.
We haven't seen it in real life,
but they showed us a picture and it looked really pearl
and it looked really nice.
I think called-
Moonlight.
Moonlight.
Moonlight.
Moonlight, yeah.
And then there's a sort of zingy blue.
It's a little bit like you used to get on Focus RS's.
Yeah, it is.
Maybe it's this one.
Maybe a bit like the old Jag French racing blue.
Moonlit white pearl.
Moonlit white pearl.
Crystal black pearl.
Racing blue pearl.
Yeah.
Or grey boring twat, BMW person, grey.
I don't think it's called that.
I think that's just what you wrote down.
Meteoroid.
I guess that's what it's called.
Meteoroid.
Meteoroid.
I think it's meteoroid.
Oh, okay.
Yeah, I think so.
Yeah.
But that's it.
And you have to pay for all of those except the black.
So if you, the black comes for free.
We haven't seen the black one.
I'm sure it'll look quite nice in black,
but they only have grey and blue ones.
A sleek lady would go 100% white or blue, I think.
I think so because she's a bit, she's a bit, you know.
She likes colour in her life.
Exactly.
And black's too dowdy.
Not enough time for that.
No.
No, no, no.
And grey's just a reminder of all the overcast horrible days of the,
the winter of discontent or whatever it was called in the 70s.
It's got a specific, yes.
Yeah.
Maybe so.
So these have lots of power cuts.
Yeah.
So she's like, no, no great for me.
I live a life of colour these days.
So not having that.
We're sitting here in this, we've returned,
we had to return the car to Nice Airport.
And then we're going straight to our flight.
And so we're sitting here,
Honda have basically borrowed, rented,
commandeered this small car park near the terminal.
Yeah.
To keep all of the preludes in when they get,
when they come back from this test drive.
But over there,
inexplicably, there's a British registered Range Rover Sport.
I don't know where that's come from.
I presume they just,
Nice Airport went,
sorry, there was someone who's left the car in your car park.
And it's broken.
Oh, that might be it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Or, yeah.
So does that, but then there's,
basically then there's just some other Hondas.
So there's,
what's that white one that we,
ZRV.
ZRV.
Yeah.
Between two of the current shape CRV,
which I personally find sort of quite a handsome car
in a low key kind of way.
I like it too.
But I just noticed,
I don't know what spec these two are.
They're from Germany.
Germany.
They're on very balloony tyres.
Yeah, that's great.
Do you want to run out there and tell you what size they are?
No.
No.
That's okay.
I'm going to speculate.
I'm going to say they are two,
two,
no,
two,
two,
two,
two,
two,
three out
Yeah.
95.
Because the tyres are so balloony,
they're actually,
they're only 14 inch wheels as well.
Because the tyres might get the rest.
They are just a long way away with it.
They're so balloony.
But I haven't driven one of these new CRVs,
but I bet that,
I bet that that's a pleasant car.
I hope it's good.
It's a bloody roomie.
Cause people like,
to think about CRVs is they always maximise the interior space.
I know two people with CRVs,
old shaped ones.
and they both really really like them. They are just workhorse. I want to call them curbs.
Curve. Curve. There was a crove and a frove.
A crove and a frove, yeah.
And there was a criss coupé a while ago.
There was. That's Chris who's trying to be a bit more zanged in the office.
A criss. I noticed the, because there's a prude next to a grey one and I can see it's
blue Brembo calipers. Oh yeah. Which say prelude on them.
Yes. And it's on 19s and I think the 19s look great but you were talking about the wheel arches
when we were on the video because they they rolled the arches in a specific way.
Yes. So that you can bring the body down over the wheel to reduce the the gap.
I'm sure that car manufacturing people will understand more of why this is something you
have to make an effort to do. But yeah, essentially the way that the wheel arch,
like the front rear wings, the arches are rolled and hemmed so that they can sit lower,
they said. Now I don't know if that's, so they already need to look into this.
They're also quite proud of the fact the roof is laser brazed to the body side.
So that there's no seams. They'd have to cover it like an ugly bit of plastic
guttering or something. It is just a sort of metal to metal join. So that was quite cool.
Thing is though, yeah, like two, three, five, 40, 19 black rims to fucking small, they
need to be way bigger than that. They way bigger. I wonder, imagine they're sitting like another,
like 10 seat cinemies down, 22s. Yeah. I didn't imagine it. Did I tell you?
Four inch tailpipe. The absolute embarrassment of when I borrowed a type R a few months ago.
Did you curl a bit? I curbed it. But you know how I curbed it? Because I hate curbing wheels.
I prime myself on not curbing wheels. Yeah. It's awful when it happens.
But the ridiculous way in which I was in a situation where I then curbed the wheel was that
we went away, just my wife and I, for a little grown-ups away weekend down to Devon.
And do you drink cider and take acid? I did neither of those things.
Okay. I'm just checking. And I took, we took the side part and parked it in a hotel car park
under a tree and some pterodactyls shat on it. That's the only explanation. It was added a
white car. It was absolutely covered in birdship. So bad. Now to stop at the first petrol station
on the way home. And there was no car wash there, but they had a, you know, one of those
like manky buckets with a thing in it. Just to clean the screen wash. You couldn't get the
screen clean. And the rest of the car was, and it was going back two days after we got home.
And so I'm going to have to clean this. And I got, I just got the normal hose out at home
and a bucket and it wasn't shifting. It had to go and break out the pressure washer.
Pterodactyl got baked on. But before I could do that, the car was backed into the drive. And so
I needed to turn it around. So I drove out onto our road. Another car was coming. I was like,
oh shit, I haven't got time to swing it around. So I, I don't, as America say, towards the curve
to just rest easy while they went by. And in my panic to do that, I just chipped a little bit
out of the black alloy because they're very prominent wheels. And I was so pissed off.
Yeah, it's awful. And it was all because I had to jet wash the turds, bird turds off the bonnet
and screen and roof and wings and every part of the car. So thanks birds. Yeah, you pricks.
Um, you know that, um, it's been the film big with Tom Hanks. Yeah. From the 80s off the 80s.
Yeah. Do you remember at the end of the pier, there's that fortune telling animatronic
chap. Yes. Zolta. Yes. In fact, you and I met as altar in, where did we go? Was it the head of
Google? Google headquarters? We were in Google's offices. I was telling someone about the other
day that we were left unaccompanied in Google's headquarters in London and in a room. A meeting
room. With a big whiteboard for people to write meeting stuff on it. And we were left in there
for so long that we just covered it in absolute bollocks. We did. I forgot about that. In the
hope that the next people to use that room would come in and go, what, why does it say ride the
business horse in the letters and that various other bits of absolute cobblers. We did talk.
And then we were out of the room. And yeah, there was that Zolta machine. There was a Zolta fortune
telling animatronic thing coin up. Well, I've been told before that I look a little bit like him.
Yes, you do. And I, I like fancy dress. If it's done with enough conviction,
okay, I'd like to dress up as actual Zolta, but put a kiosk over my head.
That's doable. Yeah. So I, my arms can go into the through the sleeves, the silky sleeves.
And I can see him. Does he have silky sleeves? I think his arms go up and doesn't he like worship
the crystal that's in front of him. Oh, yes. And then he does that really clunky animatronics.
He's a very basic animatronics, isn't it? So I don't know to be dual turbine on and
you'd have to spend the whole night at the fancy dress party moving in an animatronic way.
Yeah. For, for real. But I'd have to have drinks past him through the underneath of the so Zolta
can occasionally worship a glass of Malbec. Yeah, that's, that's going to be logistically
challenging, but not impossible. No, no, could you just put some, could Zolta have some of those crisps,
please?
Can Zolta have a load of kettle chips? Yeah. Thanks.
I don't know. I mean, I, I love to do that. I love to do that. I love people who really
commit to the bit at fancy dress parties. I, I always do. If, if I'm invited to a fancy dress
party, I don't piss around. There's no point. I can't remember the last time, I can't remember
the last time I was at a fancy dress party. I think, um, I was a theme 80s, just 80s, maybe
people from the 80s. Yeah. So I went, I went as Chris Lowe from Pascha Boys. Oh, did you?
So just put on some, I saw one, we were seeing a picture of you. Yeah. So I bought a boy cap
off eBay and I've got some knockoff Ray-Ban Wayfarers and a stripy t-shirt and a puffer
jacket. So I look like 80s spec Chris Lowe. Yeah. And my friend says in his party, well,
sort of accused me of making no effort whatsoever, even though I'd had to buy at least, in fact,
four things because I bought a child's keyboard on a strap. I could wear it on my neck when I
hit her. So I bought a new stripy t-shirt, the sunglasses and the boy cap, but the puffer
jacket I already had. Um, and I felt slightly, um, besmirched by the idea that I'd made no effort
because, and then, because this was, I stayed in a hotel, um, because the party wasn't nearby.
And I got back to the hotel in the early hours of the morning,
still wearing puffer jackets, stripy t-shirt, boy cap. So I didn't know how many I had in the
other sunglasses, but I had the Kitar, better kids Kitar over my shoulder. Was this in London?
No, this was actually in Bath Bath. But before we lived there, we still lived in London and our
friends in Bath had his party, so I had gone there. My wife couldn't go. And, um, so I was on
my own walking to the hotel with a child's Kitar over my shoulder and the guy behind reception
went, good evening sir, just back from a gig. Really? And I was about to go, yeah, and then I
thought, with a child's Kitar, what sort of gig? I mean, I quite, I like, I like the fact he was,
he was so polite. I don't know, I might start, in fact, because I gave the child's Kitar to my
kids and we still have it, so I might, I might start gigging with the, with the Kitar. It's only
got like four sounds. Hey, I, um, you know, I used the term stroker quite a lot. Yes. Um,
I was today years old, as they say, when I discovered that there is a Bert Reynolds film
called Stroker Ace. Stroker Ace, yeah. Why did, why did I not know this? Did you not know that? I did
not know this. Now is this the one where he plays an old stuntman or is he an ex moonshine running
racing driver? I forget. Oh, I mean, with a name like that, he's got to be a NASCAR driver,
isn't he? I think he might be a NASCAR driver, but he, you know, like a lot of those early days,
NASCAR drivers, his, you know, he learned to drive by outrunning the, um, what do they call them,
the revenuers. Right. In the south with his illegal hooch. Um, I might be it, I can't remember. So I
didn't know this. A big shout out to Lewis from Tacona, who sent a message going, I've just seen
this amazing promotional poster for the Japanese market with Bert Reynolds in a film called Stroker
Ace. And I was like, that's got to have been Japan only. Come on. No, it's definitely, I've, I'm,
I'm sure I've seen it, but I've seen it in the eighties late night on. You've seen, you've watched
it. I'm pretty sure I have because I, I need to watch Stroker Ace now because, or would you,
it sounds better as a stroker. What? Now, what year would that have been? Because I feel like it
was in sort of peak era, smoking in the bandits. 82, 83. Yeah. Okay. So he's probably, when we're
smoking the bandit two, around 81, 82. That era when Bert Reynolds was the world's cockiest man
and just permanently chewing gum. He looks so cool though. Yeah. Oh, yeah. No, it doesn't.
I don't know. And he always wearing a cowboy hat and always chewing gum and winking at ladies.
Yeah. I know. And just getting away with it. None of them shouted sleaze at him. No. And making
a series of middling, largely improvised films where it's just Bert Reynolds dicks around often
with a car, always chewing gum and he's got a cowboy hat on. Can you imagine trying to sell
that concept in the film studios? You go into the, you walk into the Warner Brothers lot or whatever
it will be. Okay. Got this great idea for a Bert Reynolds film. Yeah. Stop you there. What is it?
Yeah. Does it involve hectic banjo, incidental music? Yeah. Might do. Yeah. Can do. Yeah,
absolutely. Are there some American cars being absolutely ladled across like dirt roads?
Sure. Yeah. Any truck stops or sort of like barfights in pubs? Would you like them?
Yeah. Okay. They're in that. Yeah. Is he chewing gum all the time? Sure. Okay. Then you go yourself
a movie. Sorry. What was your initial idea? Oh, it was going to be setting the Renaissance and he
was going to play a painter. But don't worry. We can meld the two ideas. It'd be fine. And he
is definitely always chewing gum and wearing a cowboy hat if you want those things. It's painted
his face in cupronol or teak preserver. But that's it. I feel like if they just gone right,
we really, really want to make a film about the Wright Brothers. But unfortunately, due to a
contractual mixup, one of the Wright Brothers has to be played by Bert Reynolds. So unfortunately,
he has a Camaro that doesn't make any sense. He's always chewing gum, which again, well,
we'll allow that. And he's got a cowboy. Was he chewing tobacco about that? Oh, sure. Yes,
he's chewing tobacco. Yeah, he's chewing tobacco back then. Dirty spit. He's always getting into
barfights. Massive. And so it's not entirely historically accurate. No, there's artistic
licence there. So we've done some research and our next picture is going to be the story of a
wheel, mean bastard, but it's Henry VIII. Henry VII. He's the nastiest king bastard that England
ever had. A baddest king bastard. But he's going to be played by Bert Reynolds. So he's going to chew
gum and he's got a highly tuned mustache. A mustache? Yeah. Only the eighth has got a mustache.
Yes, because yeah, Bert Reynolds can't be in a film unless he's got a powerful rear wheel drive
domestically made automobile, even when he's depicting Henry VIII. And he's chewing gum and
he's got a cowboy hat. Bert Reynolds, sadly, wouldn't really have ever been in a prelude.
Oh, no. No, no, no. No. In fact, he would have, there would have been something where some other
character like the lily-livered local, there's a word, you know, Americans were quite like,
some old fashioned word sometimes. And one of those words is comp-troller.
Yeah, comp-troller. And it's never clear to me what exactly that is. Anyway, say there's a lily-livered
local comp-troller who is driving a prelude and Bert Reynolds drops nine tons of slurry on top of it
whilst chewing gum and wearing a cowboy hat and laughing in cruel way.
When we woke up this morning in the hotel. Yes. And we were chatting about all kinds of
bollocks. That makes it sound like we shared a room. Well, you know, we were at the breakfast.
Oh, right. Yeah, yeah. And you mentioned your hatred for pod-based coffee. Yes. The complication
of the pod. Oh, well, it's an absolute. There's another, sorry, just, there's one, you know,
we saw that SUV earlier on and we simply couldn't identify it because it had no badges on the back
and it was sort of generically alright looking. Yeah. There's a little one just driven by.
What? I still don't know what it is. We're gonna have to try and see the front of one.
Shit bags. I mean, I'm going to say it's Chinese made because, but the last time I tried that trick,
it turned out it was a South Korean KGM Nadine Doris. So sorry, pod coffee. Yeah, I don't like
pod coffee. And you said, no, and I said, it's not really the answer is it was a big fad for a long
time. And now it's just all very bitty and messy when you, you just need a trad percolator or a
always makes toss coffee. And they always have them in hotel rooms. And there was one in my
room this morning and I went, I'll make myself a coffee before I get in the shower. Yeah.
10 minutes of faff. They, I swear to God, they move the power button on those machines on a
weekly basis just to fuck with you if you don't have your own one. So every time you're in a hotel
or somewhere else's house, you go, how do I turn this on? Oh, it's just on the back at the top on
the left. No, it's on the middle on the right because that's where they are this week. Just a
mess with your head. It's disgusting. I couldn't find the power button because it was flush as well.
And I had to end up having to get my phone torch out and find the fucking thing.
Turned it on and then really to get it was that hard. Well, it was in a cabinet as well. There
was a whole, well, I could have gone to Brazil and picked some coffee beans myself faster than
making the bloody pod machine work. And then I appreciate this is the first full problem,
but I wanted a coffee. It was early and I wanted a coffee. And then I finally, it's like the lights
came on, you know, and they go, okay, the lights are on, they're saying I can make coffee. So I hit
the, you know, there's two buttons, little cup, big cup, big cup because this is your only chance.
A thimble of coffee oozed out of this machine with that horrible noise they make. And that was it.
So I did it again. I got another thimble. I was like, all right, I can live with that. That's
basically now one espresso tops. But then I was, I was quite hot, isn't it? I'll just go and have
a quick shower. I'll come out and I came out and it was stone cold. So it put my back up in a number
of ways. And I don't think it was one of Plunies, but I still took Plunies name in vain. I would,
and I like Plunie. I got time for him. And I know he probably made a billion pounds from,
from part of the base coffee. Yes. But the reason why I brought Plunie up, I think Plunie would
drive a prelude. He's, yes, I think he would. Low key, quite smooth. Understands the small
things that add up to a big thing. It's a grower, not a show. Yeah, yeah. I think you're right.
I think he'd get that. And he could sort of, he wouldn't be bothered in his prelude,
except by people who wanted to come and talk to him about technically advanced Hondas.
Yeah. And he would get a big bog down like, yeah, yeah, I know it's sort of the design language
is glider based, but I don't know any more than that. I'm afraid. Yeah. Oh, I could see that.
I could see Plunie in one of these. Yeah. Bert Reynolds, no, but Plunie, yes.
Well, also Bert Reynolds is dead. Oh, shit. Yeah. But no, like if, if, if Bert Reynolds,
in his, because he's a stickler for historical inaccuracy, Bert Reynolds, we've all, we've all
been there. Travelled forward in time, or he had somehow got one of these cars to travel back
in time to the 80s. But yeah, he's not just a drumwheel drive, not American made.
There's probably not, there's enough headroom for a cowboy hat, maybe, but there's no tea top.
Do you know there might be, there's, because we've got this, we've got these cutouts here,
haven't we? He loves a tea top, the most moronic of all the convertible roof solutions.
Well, because once you've taken the individual faffy glass, you've got a, yeah, you normally
have to hide it in a hedge and do a pin drop and come back to it later. We did that once,
we were filming, we're filming all top gear in, in the US and someone took the Targa roof off this
bright yellow Corvette that we borrowed and just put it, like, lent it against a tree out in the
boom dock somewhere. And they did a pin drop. No. This is like, pin drops didn't exist. This is
like year 2000 or something. Tell me you found it again. We did, I think, but it was not easy
because then we just sort of carried on filming the car with no roof on it and all this doing
me about and suddenly went, shit, where's the roof? Oh, we left it back where we sort of stopped
that time. Where was that? Don't know. What, two, three days drive ago? Well, it was the same afternoon,
but it was about, you know, hours had elapsed. It was like, oh, no, we've got to give it back
tonight. We're going to go back and go, sorry, we lost your roof bike. You lent it on the Joshua
tree, the actual one. Yeah, well, I mean, that would have been easy to find. That was the same
trip where they parked the Pontiac Aztec concept outside the hotel in Los Angeles and we all went,
oh, that's a bit strong. Little realizing they were going to make it, but even more goofy looking.
So I think we should wrap this up mainly because it's incredibly hot in there.
I was going to say, do you want to if I open the door for five seconds? Just do it.
One, two, three, four, sorry, listen, this is really, really, really hot. Well, that camera,
and we are trying to record this with the cameras too, but one of them shut down from heat.
It's too hot. Anyway, well, so what I'm going to say is,
that's, I'm going to close my door. Lovely door fits, lovely door fits.
So I think the doors are gorgeous. It's hard to get a big door to fit. Well,
but if anyone's going to do it, it's probably going to be a Japanese car company.
So anyway, yeah, I haven't thought of any products to say at the end of this show, but
well, you could do three things about the prelude. Do you mind or no?
Okay. Yeah. Don't involve any lead singers from Marilla. Have we?
Yeah, well, there's no fish related fact. I don't think there are. Just quickly.
We just haven't got a very sweaty back. But yes, anyway, what is there else to say about this?
We've done the asymmetric seats. Oh, the back seat is not upholstered like the front. The back
seat is, it's in very plain back, black fabric almost as though this is emergency. This is the
backup seat. You're not going to use this. The way that the old CRXs used to be, they don't waste
the good upholster on the back seat because they know you're not going to use it much, except maybe
to throw like some bags or something on it. Cause it's, cause it's basically a two plus two.
It's definitely not a four seat. I'd say barely. Yeah. But there you go. So that's a little,
that's an historical graph. The door handles are Honda E. That's a fact. Yes. And the other thing
is, is the, there's no shark fin radio aerial on the roof because they wanted it to be nice and
smooth. Yeah. They didn't want to spoil the profile. So no shark fin, the radio aerials built into the
rear window glass. Excuse me. And the other thing is, is the chap in charge of this entire
prelude project, Tomoyuki Yamagami, who we met this morning. So I'd say sweet sweet guy. Yeah.
Well, he started a Honda R&D in 98 and he's been involved in various civics and accords and
ting. What are his hobbies? Door fits, button press quality and golf. It's close. Car maintenance,
model cars, sewing, cooking and DIY. And his private cars are a 2025 Honda prelude that hasn't
been delivered yet. And a 2008 Honda Accord Euro R. Oh, now are they, are they the ones that were
sold in Japan? Either way, I think they're quite source after there. That's a real connoisseur's
car. Yeah. Good. Yeah. I told you about the Accord Type S, I think it was, that my mate's dad had
when we were at college. And he would think it was a Type S. All right. He used to have a very
wistly teeth. Oh. So he couldn't really say the name of his own car without a voice. He used to make
me laugh so hard. And James, go get a Type S. Type S. Accord Type S. It's going to be worse
because I've had like a Saab Sonnet or something. Saab Sonnet. What's your favourite? Sierra Sapphire.
Let's wind this up, boys. So what's your favourite lewd aspect? Of this car? Yeah, this new lewd.
The buttons. Yeah. Button quality. I love it. I just could, I could just sit and press the buttons
all day. I think they're very satisfying. I'm going to go with rear light bar. The protrudes ever so
slightly from the rest of the bodywork. You said in quite a Taycan-esque way and I think you're
absolutely right there. Yes. And I like the, just the enormity of the, of the boot. Yes. Yeah. And
it seems to be the first prelude hatch, wouldn't it? They've all been saloons before that. So
you have an interesting change of direction. True. True. Good. All right. Well, slightly different
Smith & Siff this week, but I hope you've enjoyed live from the prelude.
Live from the prelude. Yeah. The majesty knocks people over like a fucking shockwave
when they walk by. They're walking by on the way to the airport. Boom. It's Sonic Boom. It goes off.
Yeah. All kinds of duty free shit going everywhere. You cannot believe what this thing is capable
of. Like effortless horsepower, speed, pace, like street racing, one handed, you name it, it'll do
it. Don't fuck about, yeah. Just buy one. And on that note, believe. Believe, yeah. Not a 2.2,
but anyway, who gives a fucking, it's insane. And I like.
She dies with mugs and hats, but still no ties. One day we will make those pies,
but in the meantime, guys, hey guys. Like and subscribe. And maybe leave a nice review.
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About this episode
A lively discussion unfolds around the new Honda Prelude, marking its return after 25 years. Johnny and his co-host delve into the car's design, performance, and the unique features that set it apart from modern competitors. They reminisce about past Prelude generations and the evolution of two-door coupes, while sharing insights from their driving experience at the launch event in Nice. The episode also touches on the intricacies of Honda's engineering, including the asymmetric seats and the innovative hybrid powertrain, all delivered with humor and nostalgia.
Acura CL
Alfa Romeo GTV
BMW X5
Chevrolet Camaro
Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Volt
Ford Cougar
Ford Probe
Honda Accord
Honda Civic
Honda CR-V
Honda CRX
Honda Prelude
Kia Soul
Land Rover Range Rover
Mercedes-Benz AMG Hammer
Mercedes-Benz CLA (C117)
Mercedes-Benz E 500 (W124)
Nissan 200 SX
Nissan Ariya
Nissan GT-R (R35)
Nissan Leaf
Nissan Micra
Peugeot 406
Porsche Taycan
Renault 4 CV
Renault 5 E-Tech Electric
Renault Laguna
Toyota Camry Solara
Toyota Celica
Toyota MR2
Volkswagen ID. Buzz
Volvo XC90
Original notes
Jonny and Richard are in the South of France to drive Honda’s new coupe. As well as giving their verdict on the car, they talk about In The Night Garden, Stroker Ace and a hatred of pod coffee. But mainly about the Prelude. Believe, yeah?
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Smith and Sniff
Jonny Smith and Richard Porter
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