Two moments stood out in that memorable 2002 debate. Mr Kerry said something both sensible and prescient: that American carmakers fighting higher fuel-economy standards were actually fighting the need to make cars that would be competitive in the future. And Mr Lott said something that was also a bit prescient, but not quite as sensible. To illustrate what he clearly felt was the un-American outrage of attacking gas guzzlers, the Mississippi Republican showed colleagues a large photograph of a purple Smart car, a tiny two-seater city runabout from Germany which in 2002 was unknown on American streets. Referring to the Smart car as a "Purple People Eater", Mr Lott declared: "I don't want every American to have to drive this car."