At Toyota, they've seen the news footage of Taliban forces riding in shiny new Hilux trucks and Land Cruisers. And true or not, the story going around Afghanistan is that bin Laden himself shelled out the money to buy hundreds of the vehicles for his Taliban buddies.

But while company officials are uncomfortably flattered to know their trucks are holding up in some of the most torturous land in the world , you won't be seeing any commercials with bin Laden and a sleek 2002 model Land Cruiser, Underwood said.

"The terrain is rugged and we understand why they're attracted to them because we have a good reputation for being able to operate well and continuously with our four-wheel vehicles , but yes, it's not a product placement we'd seek out," she said from her office in Torrance, Calif.

At the same time, though, Toyota doesn't feel the need to point out the company doesn't support bin Laden or the militia that sheltered him.

"Toyota isn't trying to market to the Taliban," Underwood said. "We think customers understand that."