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Thus a narrative begins of a journey in life with a 2026 Honda Prelude. It's been a quarter of a century since Honda offered a Prelude model. The 2026 Honda Prelude isn’t just a revival - it’s a statement. With its sleek coupe design, hybrid powertrain, an instrument panel, Infotainment Display with dazzling technological wizardry, and nods to its legendary past, Honda is mythologizing its own history while boldly pushing and pioneering its way further into the future NOW with a masterpiece of form, function, and purpose. 12/20/2025 - So here is what we've learned in the days since the Prelude became a part of our lives … We’ve named our Prelude the Crimson Comet Starship that is so much more than simply a car to drive around in. It’s a sigil of mastery, etched in Rallye Red. A blur zooming along byways leaving vapor trails. NOTE: sig·il - an inscribed or painted symbol that has magical power. It’s more than just a car. It’s a moving experience. First, I want to acknowledge Brandon Rentschler who, in less than 24 hours, with sheer wizardry, made things happen for us that no other dealership could (or would) do. It seemed to be an impossibility to find a 2026 Prelude. I worked with more than two dozen Honda dealerships for three months. Plus most of the dealerships were “cashing in” by "adding on" $15,000 to $25,000 to the Prelude’s sticker price. That didn't happen with the AutoNation Honda Roseville deal Brandon put together for us. So we got our hands on one of the very few, hard to find 2026 Rallye Red Preludes. We traded in our 2015 Honda CR-Z that was loaded with many great features. It had only 68,698 miles on it. It was in pristine condition. But in the decade since that vehicle was built, A LOT had changed … and I mean a whole lot! We stepped into the future and thrill of a very smart car! One that even talks. The people I want to thank in all of this are Brandon Rentschler, Internet Sales Professional, along with Jonas Perrodin, Sales Manager. And, without exception, the person who "rode" all the ups and downs over three months of my seemingly insolvable quest to find a Rallye Red Prelude … Diana, who is always, always encouraging and supporting me. Richard Fabela, the Finance Department Genius, (who definitely is NOT your typical "bean counter") handled the final aspects of the "$how me the money" steps. He also set up a 10-year / 100,000 mile warranty at a great price!
But none of this ever would have happened without Zahir Mahmood, a Service Consultant at Lodi Honda (where we got our CR-Z serviced). In September Zahir told me about the Prelude as he answered my question of, "So when is Honda coming out with something sporty like the CR-Z?" That began my semi-insane quest of "finding a Prelude.” I fell down an Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole that led to me, as I always do, immersing myself in something I wanted to make happen. I did research. I scoured the Internet daily, while constantly talking with over two dozen Honda dealerships. I adopted the Apollo 13 rescue approach to all of this as ... Failure is NOT an option! Initially (and somewhat naively), I thought it wouldn’t be so complicated. Matter of fact. I wanted a Prelude with the assumption that a Honda dealership would sell me one. I put my name in with several Honda dealerships to be first on the list to get a Prelude. A Rallye Red One. And I knew there would be a limited production run for the Prelude. Estimated to be less than 5,000. With less than three percent that in the color red. As the weeks turned into months of me doing "recon" for a 2026 Prelude, I kept touching bases with all of the Honda dealerships. I soon learned I knew more about what was going on with the Prelude than most dealerships! Since getting our Prelude, many dealerships are still calling and texting about the status of Preludes. At those points I told them all to take me off their list because I now had my Rallye Red Prelude. I should note that as far as our CR-Z that we traded in and got a great price for, Edmunds and CarMax are still sending me emails upping the price they’ll pay to get our CR-Z. A Sisyphean Odyssey … Finding a 2026 Prelude was right out of Greek mythology where the Gods condemned Sisyphus, the King of Corinth, to keep pushing a huge boulder up a hill, over and over and over again. At so many points it looked like we were going to get the Prelude. Then things would fall apart. But I just kept at it. Just like I did to land the gig of writing for USA Today. Or meeting the President of the United States (that took 18 months to accomplish, but I did it). My point here is that I never give up ... EVER! I somehow knew we would get a 2026 Prelude. Though there were days when even I had doubts that I could make it happen. Our fallback became, well, maybe the Prelude wouldn't be the color we wanted. Still, all the same, in my mind it simply had to be RED. And I was willing to wait weeks, even months, no matter how long it took to get RED! Not much happened through October. There were plenty of YouTube videos featuring the Prelude. Driving it. Evaluating it. Lusting over it! Many criticized the price. My response to that is simply, "Get over it! That's the deal. Plain and simple. You want it? Shut the hell up and buy it" ... that is if one can be found. By late November, Honda dealerships each were getting just one Prelude. The models were white. Some with black roofs. And the dealerships were not even allowing test drives. Then I smashed HARD into a gigantic “brick wall” in my pursuit of a Prelude. The sales people at the dealerships, after being friendly and gracious, suddenly changed the narrative. And it was all in harsh terms (and tones). They informed me that they were going to be adding $15,000 to $25,000 to the sticker price. Whenever I encounter such weasel games, that’s where I draw a hard and fast line!
That's when I started hearing crickets chirping. HA! But as the Universe always does (if you shut up and pay attention), the Universe helps you find your way to exactly and precisely what you want (if you manage to stay out of your own way). I had stayed in contact with the Folsom Lake Honda dealership. They promised they would get me a Prelude in 30 to 60, maybe 90 days. But they, too, would have a dealer “add on” to the sticker price … up to $5,000. But that included throwing in some nice goodies. I could live with that. They couldn't guarantee what color we would get. And while I said that for sure I DID NOT want white or black, in the back of my mind, it was always red, red, RED! AutoNation Honda Roseville entered the picture as the exception in all of this. They were not charging those ridiculous dealership "add-on" fees to the sticker price. Then as I worked with Brandon, in less than a day, he "pulled all the right strings, tweaked many different levers, shifted countless gears, and moved various and assorted cogs & wheels" within the known Universe. Then out of nowhere, Brandon said WE WILL HAVE YOUR CAR TOMORROW. And it would be the Rallye Red Prelude we had our heart set on. How did Brandon actually do it? Dealer trading was involved. That's all I know. I don't care about any other details. Those thoughts were in my head when I drove the Prelude home from AutoNation Honda Roseville. There’s only word to describe how I felt … and still feel. STUNNED! There were so many points of exasperation and frustration. But then that Prelude - a red one - became ours! It still seems like a dream. I go out to the garage several times a day to gaze upon such a thing of beauty and perfection. Yes, this is happening! Merry Frickin' Christmas! Diana wouldn't let me sleep in the Prelude the first night. In January of 1967 I got a Marina Blue fastback brand new (at the age of 19 for $4,700), I did actually sleep in it. That began my string of owning extraordinary vehicles that included a Porsche and an Audi TT (to mention just some of them). Though I must admit our 2007 Honda Element was the most fun car we ever had (especially for dogs to tag along in). So then, on December 12, 2025, there we were, somehow, some way, maybe with a little bit of sorcery and divining, transported into the … … WOW realm of a 2026 Honda Prelude. I curled my fingers around the steering wheel, took a deep breath, and whispered, "Starship, awaken!" I put my foot firmly on the brake pedal and pressed the ignition button (there is no longer a car key). The Prelude stirred with strange new engine sounds, as the instrument panel came to life. The Infotainment Display (a touch screen computer interface) instantly displayed the coolest, 3-D NAV map I’ve ever seen. The engine quietly came to life, ready to go. I pressed “D” (where the gear shift was missing) and we were off! With new cars there are always “different things.” But this was a whole new technology world … I loved it! But I instantly did not grasp how to use it all. I "tripped up" over the new ways of doing things in the Prelude. I used my knowledge from the CR-Z as well as what I know about technology from working with computers and smartphones. When I was part of the Microsoft Windows95 Team (changing the world in the 90s), Microsoft paid to get me trained and certified at Stanford University in Human Computer Interaction. I really didn't have too much difficulty "learning the ropes" in the Prelude. But things were so different I was lost at certain points. I spent a lot of time on the Honda Garage website (and still do). I scoured the Honda Prelude user manual. There were new or changed features and options I couldn’t quite figure out that were NOT to be found in any documentation or videos. I did eventually figure it all out.
My reasoning and logic for learning how to do things in the Prelude was flawed for three reasons. First, the Prelude manual doesn't answer many of my questions. Second, the online help for the Infotainment Display doesn't show screen shots from a Prelude. I stumbled the most when I was looking for buttons and options there weren't there on the Prelude's Infotainment Display. And, third, I was applying my "affordance" (i.e., that which I knew from "doing things" in the 2015 CR-Z as well as working with computers, smartphones, and other technology) to "finding my way" in the Prelude. What I write here is NOT meant as a complaint (or whining) about anything related to Honda. From the 2006 Element to our 2015 CR-Z to now, well, Honda sets the standard for the way vehicles ought to be built, driven, and serviced. And for the things I had a hard time figuring out or trying to do, all of those instances will be part of my Bil. & His Prelude podcast on YouTube. That way others will have a resource for learning how to do thing. So here is what I tripped over … Brandon helped me set up Android Auto addressing my main concern that we have SiriusXM Radio (and we do). Setting up Android Auto took about a minute. That’s because I had installed the Android Auto App for SiriusXM Radio on my phone a few days BEFORE we went to the dealership. That's why it was so effortless to pair my phone to the Prelude. Brandon showed me much more about the Infotainment Display and how it all worked. He answered all my questions. But it take long on the drive home for me to discover there were many questions I didn't even know to ask. Also, While Brandon was in the car, I went through my entire checklist of questions I had prepared ahead of time. Things like how do you open the gas tank lid (which is simple, but on some cars we've had, that wasn't so easy to do). Once you know how to do something, it seems so simple! I had done my homework beforehand in all my research. I had learned a lot from talking to so many of the Honda dealerships as well as the YouTube videos we had watched. The test drive with Brandon was really helpful, too. But, hey, now I no longer had a 6-speed manual transmission. So I kept reaching for the gear shift (as well as lifting my left foot for the clutch that is no longer there). And, what? You push a button to start the car? WTF! Wow! Those were my first real discoveries (and surprises) in this love affair I'm having with this new car! Also, now I'm finding that I don't really miss the act of shifting gears either. So we finally leave the dealership in this incredible space-age vehicle to head home. Easy-peasy. Right? Well, not really. Now it's a whole new world with a futuristic NAV unit that I instantly found I had no idea how to use. Even though I had done my homework, I had no clue as to how the specifics worked. And, of course, there were no addresses, including for our house, yet plugged in. So, then, I’m driving, thinking we're going the right way to get home ... when really I made a wrong turn so we were headed in the opposite direction. I quickly figured out and grasped how to use the intuitive voice command feature. What? I'm talking to this car and it’s talking to me? Well, hello!!! So the route was then mapped out for us and we were on the way home. WHEW! While driving in a completely new “car driving experience” I didn't want to fool around with even attempting to figure out cruise control. Now that I know how to use it, it is quite similar to the CR-Z, only mind-numbingly advanced with things like adaptive cruise control )which I absolutely love). I also kept noticing really cool aspects of the instrument panel configuration. It even includes a speed limit sign with the posted speed limit (that immediately changes as you pass any speed limit signs posted on the side of the road. I stayed focused on driving, purposely not being distracted by how amazing this vehicle is. After 11 years (4,012 days) with the CR-Z, I noticed so many improvements over what the CR-Z offered. It was now a much quieter, smoother ride. The interior is a lot more roomy and plush. The seats, with built-in heaters, are extra comfortable and snug. The Prelude is a CR-Z on steroids! The experience of now driving a Prelude is much like going from flying a Cessna to piloting a Learjet! There was an area like a back seat (but not really) in the CR-Z. And while the Prelude has back seats (complete with seat belts), well, there isn't much "there" there. But we don't care. The Prelude is a hatchback, much improved over the CR-Z’s hatchback. The back seats in the Prelude folding down (in a 60/40 split). The single simulated back seat in the CR-Z also folded down, too. So things would still be great for our border collies to "hop along" for a ride. The Prelude has a whole LOT more room (width and depth). Best of all the Prelude is a hybrid, as was the CR-Z. The dazzling body style of the Prelude is second to none, even over all the other expensive sports cars. And the Prelude IS a sports car. It’s a Honda. That means reliability all wrapped up in a bumper to bumper warranty. You drive a Honda. Put gas in it. And get it serviced. That’s it! Oh, and, hey, the NAV unit was quite good in the CR-Z. But in the Prelude. WOW! Besides three dimensional maps that vividly show so much more detail, everything is vastly improved, including where to find gas stations, restaurants, coffee shops, and so much more. And what was just a NAV unit in the CR-Z is now an A.I. smart Infotainment Display you talk to, that talks back to you. The instrument panel is out of this world and loaded with A.I. dynamically updated information. The news just keeps getting better and better, too. When I canceled the annual subscription for SiriusXM Radio in the CR-Z, that meant a savings of close to $400 a year (with a refund of over $50 for what was left on this year’s subscription). So with Android Auto, how much does SiriusXM cost? NOTHING! Because we have a SiriusXM subscription in our house, we get a complimentary online subscription. So there is no additional cost to listen to SiriusXM in the Prelude that is channeled through my Samsung smartphone. How cool is that? And, finally, I have never allowed dealerships to put their license plate frames on any cars we've ever bought. That is until now. AutoNation Honda Roseville has a DRVPNK (Drive out Cancer) program coast to coast where they donate money (over $40 million to date) to cancer foundations when you buy your car. Since the plate frame is pink, it goes perfect with Rallye Red. I want to promote what they are doing by keeping that pink license plate frame. It looks great! Find out more ... AutoNation Drive Pink Cancer Charity …
If you're looking for a new (or used) car, Brandon Rendschler is the guy to see … AutoNation Honda Roseville. This collected combination of words to phrases, paragraphs to pages begins the continuing story for Diana and me in a “still finding our way” YouTube Podcast called Bil. & His Prelude … which just happens to be only one aspect of What I've Come to Know! Observations & Accusations … https://www.youtube.com/@Bil.Alvernaz
bil@alvernaz.com ... fingers pounding out words on a breathing keyboard ... Bil.’s books ... at Amazon.com.
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I metaphorically put my palm out like a traffic cop and stated very clearly, "Well, you can cross me off your list then. I'm not playing games. Nor am I paying a bounty that is basically gouging! Oh, and when you reach the point of not being able to sell the Preludes, well, get back to me. At which point I'll say that you can throw in the spoiler and a few other goodies for free. So don't call me, I'll call you!"
