2 weeks Ago By Christopher Sharp
Businessman and automotive enthusiast Neil Clifford has admitted that it took him two months to realise that one of his favourite cars had one feature. The CEO of Kurt Geiger, who co-hosts ‘The Car Podcast with Chris Harris & Friends’ alongside Chris Harris, Manish Pandey and Chris Cooper, was discussing which cars had the worst boots. As well as discussing Audis and Ferraris , Neil also highlighted his beloved Alpine A110 which has a small boot at the rear of the car.
However, Neil admitted he didn’t realise there was a second boot at the front until he had had the vehicle for two months. Making the admission to his co-hosts, he said: “One of my favourite cars that I own has the most pathetic boot which is the Alpine A110. I owned the car for two months before I realised it had a boot.
“It’s really really really true because I’d read the Autocar test and you know it’s the best car that’s ever been built since the 1970s, and the only problem is the storage. But I could only find the back boot. “And then it took me a couple of months to realise there is a front boot.
When you open it up it’s clearly very underwhelming the front boot because you can only fit a banjo in it and clearly the banjo is that useful for us.” Despite not finding the front boot for a couple of months, Neil was full of praise for his two-seat sportscar , a vehicle that has won aplomb for its handling since it was released in the late-2010s. Neil’s discussion comes as Alpine continues to develop its’ first electric SUV .
The model, designated the A390, has been undergoing testing and development ahead of its’ release. However, in recent weeks the company has announced that Alpine will postpone the US launch of the car because of Donald Trump ’s 25 percent tariffs on all cars imported into the country. This, on top of growing uncertainty over the mainstream future of electric cars, is why the delay has been put in place, reports Autocar .
Speaking about the matter, chief financial officer for Renault , who own Alpine, Duncan Minto said: “Considering what's going on in the US at the moment, I don't think it's the right time to be spending on those studies.” Alpine isn’t the only manufacturer to have changed their plans because of Trump’s tariffs . Jaguar Land Rover , who make the popular with Hollywood Range Rover, announced they would stop exporting to the country.
At the time of the announcement, a spokesperson for Jaguar Land Rover said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands. As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are enacting our short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid to longer-term plans.” In response to growing discontent from carmakers at home and abroad, Donald Trump is reportedly considering exempting some manufacturers from the tariffs, reports the Financial Times .
Speaking to the publication, Stellantis chairman John Elkann said that both “American and European car industries” were “being put at risk” by Trump’s trade policies that have upended a 100-plus year trading relationship with the rest of the world..
