SÃO PAULO, Brazil — A surprise appearance at the 2008 São Paulo Auto Show this week was a compact four-door sedan from Dodge, the new Trazo. It's the sedan version of the Tiida, known as the Versa in the U.S. market. The car will be built in Mexico by Nissan, as is the Tiida/Versa, and sold in South America badged as a Nissan. It is set for an on-sale date in mid-2009.The Trazo will be sold in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay to start. The new model will be an important part of the Chrysler strategy to increase Dodge's presence in the region.Chrysler and Nissan have been partnering since reaching an agreement in January. Nissan's JACTO has been supplying Chrysler with transmission systems for front-wheel-drive models. The two companies may strengthen the partnership by reaching other supply agreements in the future.For the Trazo, Dodge's role was to tune up the 16-valve 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine for the new bifuel configuration — nearly a requirement for new models sold in this part of the world. The car was developed in both Mexico and the United States.Pricing has not yet been decided, and Chrysler is expected to wait for some kind of stabilization of the international monetary exchange rate before setting one.Inside Line says: Product-sharing bears fruit for the South American buyer. — Rodolpho Siqueira, Correspondent