Of the Japanese producers, only Honda has for the moment made a big investment inside Mercosur's walls, though Toyota has a small plant making pick-ups, and is building another small one to make Corolla cars.

ECONOMIST: Making cars in Latin America

Old reliables Camry, in a new and improved version, and Corolla continue to hold down huge portions of the crucial small-car segment.

FORBES: Back-On-Top Toyota Tests Gains With New Version of Tundra

" Civil servant Roger Sutojo figures the Timor "may take some of the small van market, but no one who aspires to own something like the Toyota Corolla is going to want to buy this.

CNN: Tremors from the Timor