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I wondered if that was the case.
Even a relatively smaller volume water jacket in the engine would achieve the same thing with a closed thermostat.
Of course, some modern cars are taking this to the next level: eg. coolant loops/heat exchange with the exhaust system (eg. hybrids) for reasons of efficiency & emissions.
Even the lowly Mitsu Mirage has a big resistor element in the heater box to both raise engine load after a cold start (speeding engine/coolant warm-up) and generate warm air for the cabin sooner.
But the folks' 2006 Camry really is remarkable: I drove it last night to pick up groceries for them, and even from a sub-freezing (-3C / 27f) start, it was already blowing lukewarm air within 1 km! 0.6 miles. And that's when being driven very gently.
The Miata is by far the slowest to warm up of any car I've owned. (I'm glad for the corroboration from Stubby... I'm not just crazy.)
It's definitely getting an inline coolant heater next summer.
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