Could the Roanoke area be in line for a turn of fortune that might well trump last week's bickering by local government officials about who has the best plan for recruiting new employers?

That would be the case if the economic tables turned and the area gets picked by the world's second-biggest car company as the site of its next plant, which would boast 1,500 to 3,000 highly paid workers.

This surprising scenario surfaced Saturday in a New York Times article that quoted anonymous sources "involved" with Toyota, whose U.S. headquarters is based in Torrance, Calif. The Times' sources said Virginia, and more specifically an unidentified site "outside Roanoke," is on a short list of expansion possibilities being considered by the Japanese auto giant.

No one responded to a call by The Roanoke Times to Toyota's Torrance media relations office.

The Roanoke area is among several logical spots for a new car plant, said Jeffrey Liker, a professor of engineering at the University of Michigan and author of a book titled "The Toyota Way," which explores the car company's growth strategies.

"When they look for a new assembly site, they want parts plants nearby for a supply base, a work force that has lots of technical skills, and having a rail system is good," Liker said.

Roanoke would seem to have all that, Liker acknowledged, although so do other candidates for the Toyota plant, which would probably open late in this decade, if approved. The states competing with Virginia are said to be Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee. The company's decision is up to its directors in Japan, although U.S.-based executives and consultants generally play key roles in greenlighting such projects.

"Roanoke leaders should be pulling together and reaching out to Toyota to get this plant. If we're really a contender, we should roll out the red carpet and put together a package of state and local economic incentives," said Bob Fetzer, president of Downtown Roanoke Inc., an economic development group, and also president and founder of Building Specialists, a construction firm.

Last week Fetzer was among the targets for criticism by Roanoke Councilman Brian Wishneff, who said neither Fetzer's agency nor the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership have done enough to spur job growth. Wishneff couldn't be reached for comment on Saturday.

But Fetzer, who rebuked Wishneff for his comments last week, said the possibility of Toyota could salve sore spots and bring differing parties together. "This would be the biggest thing for Roanoke in decades. It will take all of us working together."

Fetzer added that the goal of landing Toyota should move ahead of the council's focus on the future of Victory Stadium. "There should be a new priority now," he said.

Daniel Barchi, president and chief executive officer of Carilion Biomedical Institute, who has been at the helm of his company's considerable economic development efforts for four years, said the possibility of Toyota expanding here is "fantastic news." But without mentioning city leaders' infighting last week -- which featured an inconclusive debate over who had the best track record for job recruitment -- Barchi said, "This will be a test of leadership."

Virginia's arrival as a Toyota plant candidate comes later in the same week that Ford Motor Co. said it will close its 81-year-old truck factory in Norfolk. Ford and General Motors, between them, have announced plans to close 30 factories and eliminate 60,000 jobs by the end of 2012. Toyota has said it's studying how many additional plants it would need to garner 20 percent of the American car market, up from its current 14 percent.

Besides the Roanoke area, Toyota is said to be considering sites near Chattanooga, Tenn.; Greensboro, N.C.; and in northeast Arkansas.

"All of the prospective locations have infrastructure strengths and other qualities that essentially make them equal with each other," said Liker, the Toyota expert in Michigan. "One will eventually make itself appear special to Toyota. That's how it works."