[...] "Part of the reason we've done so well in recruiting the automotive industry is we've been assertive in being sure we were in the right place at the right time," he said. "We are going to pursue this project with every capability and the full amount of energy we can. We will be in the hunt as long as possible."

But economic development officials said site consultants and Toyota officials are focusing on three sites around Memphis and have made covert visits there in recent weeks. Company officials are not believed to have paid a similar visit to a site in Jackson County.

Believed to be topping Toyota's list are sites near Marion, Ark.; Como, Miss.; and Jackson, Tenn.

Siegelman said Alabama isn't out of the race.

"You haven't heard the last from Dr. Toyoda in Alabama, I don't believe," Siegelman said, referring to Shoichiro Toyoda, Toyota's honorary chairman and member of the its founding family. (The family chose a different spelling for the company name.)

"We're OK," he added. "All of these projects are tough and highly competitive."

However, the governor also expressed a hint of doubt. "You only have to go as far back as Nissan to remember we don't win them all," Siegelman said.

Nissan chose Canton, Miss., over a site in Opelika in 2000 for its $930 million truck plant. [...]