Fastbacks That Are Fun To Drive Slow: 1991 Geo Storm vs 1992 Honda Prelude

Good morning, and welcome to another Shitbox Showdown! The old adage that “it’s more fun to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slow” is getting a bit tired these days, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Slow cars are out of fashion in the new market, with 300 horsepower minivans and electric cars that go 0-60 faster than you can say “holy crap are you kidding?”, but plenty of us remember a time when both horsepower and 0-60 times were in the double digits, and we somehow made do. On the plus side, we had a sea of small two-door fastback coupe styles to choose from, which are conspicuously absent from showrooms today.

I’ve got a pair of them to show you, but first, let’s see how yesterday’s vote turned out. It was a bit of an odd pairing, I admit, and I don’t think too many people would cross-shop those two cars. But you made your preference clear: the Mini absolutely trounced that poor gray Hyundai.

And of course, I agree. I’ve only gotten to drive one new Mini Cooper, and it wasn’t an S, though it was a manual, and I had a blast. It’s a delightful little car to drive, but the ownership experience is a bit of a challenge. I think most people here are up to it, though, and it doesn’t surprise me at all that this isn’t a Hyundai Sonata crowd.

Which leads me to today’s choices: Both the base models of their respective lines, both five-speed sticks, both a bit challenged cosmetically. And you could have both of them for the price of one of yesterday’s cars. Sounds like a good cheap date with a twisty back road to me. Let’s check them out.

1991 Geo Storm – $1,900

Engine/drivetrain: 1.6 liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD

Location: Hayward, CA

Odometer reading: 155,000 miles

Runs/drives? Yep

We all have “the one that got away,” the car we almost bought, but passed up for one reason or another, and never got another chance at. Mine is the Geo Storm. This badge-engineered version of the Isuzu Piazza was sold at Chevrolet dealerships under the Geo nameplate from 1990 to 1993, and a blue GSi model was for sale at a crummy buy-here-pay-here lot in Minneapolis in 1999. The salesman tried to give me the hard sell on their in-house financing, and I got fed up and left. I never did get another chance at one.

This one is tempting, but it’s not quite right. It’s not a GSi – which means it’s down one camshaft, four exhaust valves, and thirty-five horsepower from the car I almost bought – and it’s not electric-Smurf blue. Or teal, or yellow, or magenta, or any of the other cool colors these came in. The ’90s were the era of fun car colors, yet whoever bought this one new chose plain white. At least it’s straight and rust-free.

Inside, it’s not so pretty. These were cheap cars, like all Geos, and what money GM did spend on them it saved for the driving dynamics. The interior wasn’t great to begin with, and it clearly hasn’t held up too well. It’s still serviceable, but it’s beat. The seller says everything works, though.

This car has so many cool little styling details: the floating roof, the hidden door handles, the half-lidded headlight covers. It looks like no other little sporty economy car before or since, and I just love it. Oh, and those driving dynamics I mentioned? These things were the darlings of the autocross circuit in their day. They handle, to use another tired cliche, like go-karts.

1992 Honda Prelude – $1,999

Engine/drivetrain: 2.2 liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD

Location: Concord, CA

Odometer reading: 333,000 miles

Runs/drives? Indeed

Honda’s Prelude, of course, was around long before the Geo Storm, and stuck around well after. And it seems like it’s coming back, and I am absolutely here for it. We need some more affordable coupes on the market – even if “affordable” is a relative term these days. Now, I just hope they offer it in purple, like this fourth-generation model.

Like the Storm, the Prelude was available with varying levels of horsepower. This is a basic S model, with a 133 horsepower single-overhead-cam four. That may not sound like much, but it’s enough, especially with a five-speed stick like this one has. And it has been enough to move this Prelude around for a long time: it has more than 300,000 miles on the odometer.

Somewhere along the line, it acquired a salvage title. I don’t know if that has anything to do with the damage to the left rear quarter panel, but it wouldn’t surprise me. At this age, it doesn’t take much for an insurance company to total a car. The ad says it’s a one-owner car, so you should be able to get the whole story, whatever it is. It runs and drives well, and has a current registration.

And it’s purple! I mean, come on. Just try to find a new car for sale in 2023 that comes in purple. Oh, I’m sure there are some expensive exotics you could order in this color, but a run-of-the-mill base-model sporty coupe? They’re rare enough in boring colors.

I know I’ve said it before, but man, do I miss cars like these. I’m so happy to see the new Prelude, even if it is just a concept so far. Same with Hyundai’s N Vision 74, though I really hope there’s a more basic model of that one in the works. In the meantime, we’ve got these two. Threadbare and banged-up as they may be, they’re still a lot of fun to drive, and you can’t deny the prices are right. Which one will it be?

(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)