In April, four Toyota executives flew to North Carolina to look at potential spots for a new plant that the automaker was considering. When they got to Alamance County to view one of the state's top two offerings, the executives saw a tract of land -- and not much else.

"There's a difference between dirt and a site," said Mac Williams, president of Alamance County's Chamber of Commerce. "Alamance has a piece of dirt that conceptually could be a location," he said, "but it's not a site."

Toyota wanted about 2,000 flat acres, ideally controlled by one owner, with links to two rail lines. The land needed to be close to an interstate and have easy access to water and other infrastructure.

North Carolina fell short.

For at least the fourth time in two decades, the state missed a big automotive factory that could have transformed an entire region's economy.

Toyota in February said that it will build near Tupelo, Miss., investing $1.3 billion and creating 2,000 jobs at a plant that will make Highlander sport utility vehicles.

North Carolina was a top-five finalist for the operation. Commerce Department records made public last week reveal that state officials are getting more sophisticated in courting foreign automakers. However, the state still lacks a key factor in attracting a plant: a site ready for construction.

"We need to be more prepared," Williams said. "It takes money and political will."

The urgency is rising. The state suffers because it is outside an auto corridor that runs, roughly, from Michigan to the Deep South. As more manufacturers and suppliers settle in that area, other states can become less appealing.

"A challenge for North Carolina is how do we fit into the logistics sweet spot," Commerce Secretary Jim Fain said. "We continue to think, while not ideal, we're not so off the sweet spot we can't have a competitive facility."

Auto industry in N.C.

Indeed, the auto industry has been quietly expanding in the state for years. More than 1,000 manufacturers in the state make components for car, truck, bus and heavy equipment companies.

Twenty of Toyota's suppliers are in North Carolina, including transmission parts maker AW North Carolina in Durham, which employs more than 1,000. Each year, Toyota buys nearly $1 billion in products from those companies.

None of them, though, has the cachet of a major assembly plant. For recruiters, winning an auto plant is akin to a football team winning the Super Bowl. Not only do such factories employ thousands, the companies that service them can employ thousands more.

The effects ripple through the economy. Toyota, for instance, can spend $2 million a month to power an assembly plant.

North Carolina has tried since at least 1992 to land a major automaker. BMW spurned the state then, opting to build in South Carolina when it couldn't find an appropriate location near Asheville. Mercedes shunned North Carolina in 1993, opting for Alabama, which offered more incentives.

Audi reportedly looked at a site in the state in the past decade, but nothing ever came of it. Meanwhile, Nissan opened a plant in Mississippi in 2003, Hyundai opened in Alabama in 2005, and Kia announced a factory in Georgia last year.

State courts Toyota

North Carolina officials say they have learned from their failures.

They have put in place incentives that the state once lacked to spur industrial recruitment. In a September letter to Dennis Cuneo, senior vice president of Toyota North America, Fain estimated that the state would offer at least $88.2 million in grants, tax credits and tax refunds.

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