But the map of the world car industry looks as if it has already been drawn up.
The all-electric Nissan Leaf beat out 39 competitors to claim the title, 2011 World Car of the Year.
The World Car of the Year competition is open to mass-produced vehicles that are available on at least two continents.
The Spark is already a world car, and selling it here brings the domestic industry in line with the rest of the globe.
FORBES: Meet The Incredible, Half-Sized Spark -- Chevy's Smallest Car Ever
Sooner or later, Brazil and the rest of Mercosur must decide whether they want to become a real force in the world car market.
Carbusters online regularly goes after the primacy of the automobile, and the World Car-Free Network inveighs against driving from a berth in the Czech Republic.
In Brazil, Argentina, Russia and India, it has also opened or started building huge new factories to make its so-called world car, the smart and rugged little Palio.
Real-world car buyers should prefer the four-cylinder car, reasoning that the fractional loss of horsepower is more than compensated by the 328i's price, the fuel economy and the comparative lightness.
The new versions of the Punto and Palio in a few years will share chassis as well as engines and gearboxes, enabling production of some 2m vehicles from a single platform, and yielding the sort of economies of scale these days enjoyed only by the likes of Toyota, with its Corolla world car.
The track at Sonoma will also host the first U.S. FIA World Touring Car Championship, AutoGP World Series and the United States Touring Car Championship in a busy motor sports weekend.
World class car companies like Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Nissan, Hyundai, and BMW, have moved to the region.
The Spaniard has previously raced in the World Touring Car championship and tested for Renault earlier this year.
"If we look at all the countries around the world, New Zealand is the second highest in the world for car ownership, " he said.
That will be built to the same World Rally Car rules which Subaru, Peugeot and Ford are now exploiting to their advantage, which will make its debut some time next year.
Fourgeaud, 32 and Kallio, 33, are also on the hunt for Series A financing, but potential investors will note that neither come from the world of car making, with Fourgeaud steeped in mobile and social media, and Kallio primarily a brand designer.
Germany - the largest economy in Europe and one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world - saw its car sales drop 2.9% in 2012 compared with the previous year.
General Motors wants to turn Chevrolet into its "foundation brand" around the world--a cheap car for the world's masses.
The Lancer has been the dominant car in world rallying since 1996, and Tommi Makinen's four world title owed as much to his car's speed, consistency and reliability as to his own skills behind the wheel.
The world's car plants could build perhaps one third more cars than they do.
Indeed, he often looks outside the car world for inspiration on how to define the look of the brand.
FORBES: BMW Design Head On The Future of Cars, Why Electric Needs A Premium Brand
The world's car industry is not a kind and gentle place right now.
Letting someone else build your parts and even your entire production of certain models makes sense in today's car world.
Tied up in port sit two massive iron ore transporters carrying the raw material for the world's car making industry.
And, after some initial hesitation, the world's car makers are now investing heavily in turning it into a practical reality.
To those who consider the Model S the world's best car, I throw out this question: What's the world's best shoe?
Indeed, Tata, though it says it has no plans to export the People's Car beyond developing countries, may be able to leverage what it learns from designing and producing the world's cheapest car.
Prokhorov introduced the car to the world last month he's now letting members of the proletariat see the car for themselves at the Yo-mobile Hybrid Pavilion, where three models of the car are being shown to the public: the microcar (wee hatchback on the right above), a coupe, and even a minitruck.
ENGADGET: Yo-mobile hybrid cars on display in Russia, run on gas, natural gas, and GLONASS
Sales and production by Japanese companies have shown clear improvements in the world's biggest car market.
WSJ: Japanese Car Makers Report Production Increases in China
That has resulted in a drop in Honda's sales to China, the world's biggest car market.
BBC: Honda sees quarterly profits rise but cuts annual forecast
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