1998 Honda Prelude Still the techno-titan of small sport coupes. By Tony Swan, New Car Test Drive .com

Completely redesigned last year, the Honda's hot rod enters 1998 unchanged except for the addition of one new exterior color. Nothing unusual in that. Manufacturers rarely make many changes in the year following a major redesign.

But that doesn't tell the whole story. Just two years ago we thought this car was a goner. Like so many sport coupes, its sales were slow, and there was informed speculation of the Prelude's impending demise, even inside American Honda.

Well, we're pleased to say that all the speculative doom-and-gloom, our own included, was wrong. The new Prelude, the fifth generation of this popular series, is alive and well. It's roomier, more powerful, and more technically sophisticated than generation four. In a word, better.