It’s a formality, of course — we all knew it was coming. But now that UK GDP has shrunk for two consecutive quarters it’s officially allowed to be called ‘recession’.

Sterling is at a 24-year low against the dollar — £1 is now worth $1.355. Last time we visited Chicago (last November) £1 got you around $2.

Keywords abound: grim, weak, depression, severe, deteriorating, decline, slumped, losing confidence, shrink…

Despite the government injecting £37bn into the banks they’re still not lending and still not passing on the massive rate cut to borrowers — the cheapest mortgage rate from Nationwide, for example, is 4.00%.

The BoE base rate is currently 1.5%.

However they are passing it onto savers — a regular day-to-day savings account from Nationwide currently offers around 2.00% interest.

Here are the vitals:

• VW Polo GTi
• 1600 engine
• 125bhp
• Black metallic paint
• 93,000 genuine miles
• Full service history
• Comes with original VW roofrack & all fixings

If you’re interested, please do drop us a line. Alternatively you can make an offer via eBay or view the car on Auto Trader (coming soon).

UPDATE: She’s gone…sniff…be well, car, be well.