Paul and Cynthia Vance invited Carl and Jeanne Leichtamer to go for a ride in the Vances's fourwheel drive Jeep at an "off the road" recreation facility called the Hall of Fame Four-Wheel Club. The club had been organized by a Jeep dealer who showed films to club members of Jeeps traveling in hilly country.
This activity was coupled with a national advertising program of American Motor Sales Corporation encouraging people to buy Jeeps that could drive up and down steep hills. As the Jeep went up a 33-degree sloped, double-terraced hill, it pitched over from front to back and landed upside-down. The Vances were killed, and the Leichtamers were severely injured. The Jeep was equipped with a factory-installed roll bar attached to the sheet metal that housed the rear wheels. When the vehicle landed upside down, the flat sheet metal gave way, causing the roll bar to move forward and downward 14 inches. The Leichtamers argued that the weakness of the sheet metal housing upon which the roll bar had been attached was the cause of their injuries.
The manufacturer claimed that the roll bar was provided solely for side-roll protection, not pitchover, as occurred in this case. Did the Leichtamers recover against the manufacturer on a theory of strict liability? Why or why not?
Leichtamer v. American Motors Corp., 424 N.E.2d 568 (OH).