Vehicle body lateral structure

A vehicle body lateral structure includes a rear strake which is provided with a mounting part for being mounted on a plate-shaped member of a side sill through a rear inner fender, a bolt fastening surface which protrudes from the mounting part by a first protrusion amount toward the front of the vehicle, and a bolt through-hole which opens from the bolt fastening surface toward the front of the vehicle. The rear inner fender includes a cut-out section which has a larger diameter than the bolt fastening surface. A stepped bolt includes in its axial direction, a screw portion which screws into a nut fixed to the plate-shaped member of the side sill, a small-diameter cylindrical portion, and a flange portion which has a smaller diameter than the bolt fastening surface.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a vehicle body lateral structure provided with a strake.

BACKGROUND ART

When a travel wind directly hits on a rotating wheel while a vehicle is traveling, pressure is exerted on the front of the wheel and turbulent flow is caused to allow the air to be disturbed at a lower part of the vehicle in a position posterior to the wheel. Consequently, air resistance and lift force against the wheel are increased to cause problems such as an increase in fuel consumption, uncomfortable ride, and noises. To cope with this, an approach has been adopted in which a strake (flow-rectifying plate) is provided in a position anterior to the wheel to allow a travel wind hitting on the wheel to be rectified to escape to right and left of the wheel to thereby decrease air resistance and lift force against the wheel (see Patent Literature 1).

Patent Literature 1 discloses a vehicle body lower structure, in which a rear strake intended for flow-rectifying effect around a rear wheel house is provided at a lower end in a front part of a rear inner fender of the rear wheel house. The rear strake is fastened and fixed to the rear wheel house and the rear fender, using a bolt and/or a clip.

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Technical Problem

However, the vehicle body lower structure disclosed in Patent Literature 1 has posed problems as described below.

In general, a rear strake and a rear inner fender are shaped in the form of a resin component. Where these resin components are bolted to a vehicle body, crush of the resin components is caused when a tightening torque of a bolt is increased, and the rear strake and the rear inner fender which are resin components expand and deform due to heat to change board thicknesses thereof, thereby posing problems in which the tightening torque of the bolt does not stabilize, or the tightening torque becomes insufficient.

For example, where the tightening torque of the bolt becomes insufficient, problems are posed in which fastening forces of a rear wheel house inner and a rear wheel house outer which are vehicle body components inside the rear inner fender, and of a side sill provided in a position anterior to the wheel house, are decreased to lower rigidity and strength of the vehicle body.

The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and makes it an object thereof to provide a vehicle body lateral structure capable of achieving stability of a tightening torque of a bolt when a rear strake and a rear inner fender are bolted to a vehicle body, and an improvement in rigidity and strength of the vehicle body which is obtained by stabilizing the tightening torque of the bolt.

Solution to Problem

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a vehicle body lateral structure including: a wheel house which is provided on a vehicle body lateral part to house a tire; an inner fender which covers a face of the wheel house, the face being on a side facing the tire; and a strake which is bolted through the inner fender to a wheel house fastening hole provided on the wheel house, wherein the strake includes a mounting part for being mounted through the inner fender to the wheelhouse fastening hole, a bolt fastening surface protruding from the mounting part by a predetermined protrusion amount toward the wheel house and capable of housing a head portion of a bolt, and a bolt through-hole formed on the bolt fastening surface; the inner fender includes a cut-out section at a position corresponding to the bolt fastening surface, the cut-out section having a larger diameter than the bolt fastening surface; and the bolt includes, in an axial direction in a following order, a screw portion which screws into the wheel house fastening hole, the head portion having a larger diameter than the screw portion and a smaller diameter than the bolt through-hole, and a flange portion having a larger diameter than the bolt through-hole and a smaller diameter than the bolt fastening surface, and wherein the strake is bolted to the wheel house fastening hole to allow the bolt fastening surface to be sandwiched between the flange portion and the wheel house and to allow the inner fender to be sandwiched between the mounting part and the wheel house.

According to this configuration, even if the bolt is tightly fastened to the wheel house, the head portion of the bolt allows the bolt fastening surface to be sandwiched between the flange portion and the wheel house with a moderate tightening force. As a result, the bolt fastening surface is prevented from getting crushed, and even if the strake and the inner fender expand and deform due to heat to change board thicknesses thereof, decrease in a tightening torque of the bolt relative to the wheel house is not caused. Consequently, the bolt can be fastened to the wheel house with a high tightening torque, thus allowing rigidity and strength of the vehicle body to be improved.

The vehicle body lateral structure may be configured such that the wheel house has a wheel house inner disposed inside in a vehicle width direction, and a wheel house outer disposed outside in the vehicle width direction, and includes an overlapped section in which an outer end portion in the vehicle width direction of the wheel house inner overlaps an inner end portion in the vehicle width direction of the wheel house outer, and an inner fastening hole provided on the outer end portion in the vehicle width direction of the wheel house inner and an outer fastening hole provided on the inner end portion in the vehicle width direction of the wheel house outer are overlapped to constitute the wheel house fastening hole.

According to this configuration, when the inner fastening hole of the wheel house inner and the outer fastening hole of the wheel house outer are fastened to each other, the bolt for use in mounting the strake can be shared, thus making it possible to decrease the number of components to reduce cost and weight of the vehicle body, and also to decrease assembly man-hours of the vehicle body. Moreover, the strake is mounted on the overlapped section of the wheel house inner and the wheel house outer, at which two components are overlapped to thicken the board thickness as compared with other regions thereof, thus making it possible to improve mounting rigidity and strength of the strake.

The vehicle body lateral structure may be configured such that it further includes a side sill which extends in a front-rear direction of the vehicle body in a position anterior to the wheel house, and the side sill includes a side sill flange portion at a rear end thereof, and the side sill flange portion includes a side sill fastening hole which is fastened by the bolt together with the wheel house fastening hole.

According to this configuration, the wheel house fastening hole and the side sill fastening hole are fastened together by the bolt, thus allowing an efficiency of load transfer to be improved between the wheel house and the side sill which are fastened by the bolt, and allowing rigidity and strength of the vehicle body to be further improved.

The vehicle body lateral structure may be configured such that it further includes a nut into which the screw portion of the bolt screws, the nut being on a front face side of the side sill flange portion and coaxially with the wheel house fastening hole and the side sill fastening hole, and the wheel house inner, the wheelhouse outer, and the side sill flange portion are sandwiched between the nut and the head portion.

According to this configuration, the wheel house inner, the wheel house outer, and the side sill flange portion can be fastened together with the nut with a high tightening torque, thus allowing rigidity and strength of the vehicle body to be improved.

The vehicle body lateral structure may be configured such that the mounting part includes a second mounting part for being mounted through the inner fender to the vehicle body, and the inner fender is sandwiched between the second mounting part and the wheel house.

According to this configuration, the strake is joined at a plurality of fastening points to the wheel house, thus making it possible to be more reliably mounted and supported on the wheel house.

Advantageous Effects of the Invention

The present invention allows a vehicle body lateral structure to be provided which is capable of improving both stability of a tightening torque of a bolt in a resin component and rigidity and strength of a vehicle body such as a wheel house.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference toFIGS. 1 to 5. In the description below, the same component is given the same reference numeral and duplicate description is omitted. Also, when a direction is described, the description will be given based on “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, “up” or “down” when viewed from a driver in a vehicle. Note that a vehicle width direction is synonymous with the right-left direction.

FIG. 1is a perspective view showing a vehicle body lateral structure according to a first embodiment.FIG. 2is a perspective view showing a mounting structure of a strake on the left side in the vehicle body lateral structure according to the present embodiment, when viewing from behind on the left side.FIG. 3is a view showing the vehicle body lateral structure inFIG. 2, when viewing from the left side.FIG. 4is a cross-sectional view when viewing from the arrow direction of the line A-A inFIG. 3.FIG. 5is a cross-sectional view showing the mounting structure of the strake on the left side in the vehicle body lateral structure inFIG. 2. Note that the vehicle body lateral structure according to the present embodiment has a symmetric structure, and accordingly, in the description below, a structure on the left side of the vehicle will be described and description on a structure on the right side will be omitted.

As shown inFIG. 1andFIG. 2, a vehicle C including a vehicle body lateral structure1according to the first embodiment is, for example, a car such as an FF (front-engine, front-wheel drive), an FR (front-engine, rear-wheel drive), and a four-wheel drive.

The vehicle body lateral structure1forms a lateral part of the vehicle C, and mainly includes a rear wheel house10which is provided on a vehicle body lateral part to house a rear tire2, a rear inner fender11which covers a face of the rear wheel house10, the face being on the side facing the rear tire2, a side sill12(seeFIG. 2) which extends in a position anterior to the rear inner fender11, and a rear strake20which is bolted through the rear inner fender11to the side sill12.

As shown inFIGS. 2 to 5, the side sill12is a hollow structural frame member which extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle to constitute part of the vehicle body. The side sill12includes a side sill stiffener12a, and a side sill outer13which is composed of a high-strength steel sheet and disposed to cover the exterior of the vehicle body. A plate-shaped member12bbent in the form of an L-shape outwardly in the vehicle width direction protrudes from a rear end portion of the side sill stiffener12a(seeFIG. 3). A nut14is fixed to the plate-shaped member12b.

The rear wheel house10is a semicircular steel member which constitutes part of the vehicle body, and includes a wheel house inner15and a wheel house outer16. The wheel house inner15is disposed inside in the vehicle width direction of the rear inner fender11, and the wheel house outer16is disposed outside in the vehicle width direction of the rear inner fender11.

A bolt fastening hole15ais formed on the outer end portion in the vehicle width direction of the wheel house inner15, and a bolt fastening hole16ais formed coaxially with the bolt fastening hole15aof the wheel house inner15, on the inner end portion in the vehicle width direction of the wheel house outer16. The bolt fastening hole15aof the wheel house inner15and the bolt fastening hole16aof the wheel house outer16are communicated with the nut14with the same diameter through the plate-shaped member12bof the side sill12.

An overlapped section, in which the outer end portion in the vehicle width direction of the wheel house inner15overlaps the inner end portion in the vehicle width direction of the wheel house outer16, is fastened and fixed to the plate-shaped member12bby means of a stepped bolt30. The overlapped section is bolted to the plate-shaped member12bto allow strength of the wheel house to be further improved.

The rear inner fender11is a resin component which covers a face of the rear wheel house10, the face being on the side facing the tire, and includes a cut-out section11a(circular opening in the present embodiment) having a larger diameter than a bolt fastening surface20d(seeFIG. 4andFIG. 5), and a cut-out section11b(circular opening in the present embodiment) having a larger diameter than a locating fastening surface20f(seeFIG. 4andFIG. 5).

The rear strake20is a member which is drooped from a lower base of the rear inner fender11in a downward direction of the vehicle body to rectify airflow during traveling of the vehicle.

The rear strake20is a resin component and includes a strake main body20awhich is bent in the form of an inverse L-shape to droop in the downward direction of the vehicle body from the rear side of the vehicle when viewing in the vehicle width direction, a mounting part20bwhich rises in an upward direction of the vehicle body from a front part of the strake main body20awhen viewing in the vehicle width direction, and is for allowing the bent face to be mounted through the rear inner fender11to the side sill12, and a support part20cwhich is curved to the upper surface side at the bent position of the strake main body20aand the mounting part20bto keep a support stiffness.

The rear strake20is bolted by the stepped bolt30(seeFIG. 4) through the rear inner fender11to the nut14(seeFIG. 4) (wheel house fastening hole) which is connected to the plate-shaped member12b(vehicle body) in the rear end portion of the side sill12. Although in the present embodiment, the nut14to be bolted is employed as the wheel house fastening hole provided on the rear wheel house10, a screw bolt not requiring the nut14may be employed instead.

Here, in the present embodiment, the rear strake20is bolted to the nut14connected to the plate-shaped member12bof the side sill12which extends in the front direction of the vehicle in a position anterior to the rear inner fender11. But, as long as the manner of fastening is one allowing the rear strake20to be bolted to the vehicle body, any manner of fastening can be adopted. For example, the rear strake20may be bolted to a component other than the side sill12as long as the component constitutes part of the vehicle body. Alternatively, the rear strake20may be bolted to the rear wheel house10to allow the rear wheel house10to be fixed to the vehicle body (the rear end portion of the side sill12, or the like).

<Mounting of the Mounting Part20bof the Rear Strake20, the Wheel House Inner15and the Wheel House Outer16, by Means of the Stepped Bolt30>

As shown inFIG. 4andFIG. 5, the stepped bolt30includes a screw portion30awhich screws into the nut14, a cylindrical portion30b(head portion) having a larger diameter than the screw portion30aand a smaller diameter than a bolt through-hole20eof the rear strake20, a flange portion30chaving a larger diameter than the bolt through-hole20eand a smaller diameter than the bolt fastening surface20d, and a bolt portion30dfor fastening operation, which are arranged in an axial direction thereof.

The cylindrical portion30bhas an axial length L1. The axial length L1is set to allow the bolt fastening surface20dwhich is a resin component to have moderate tightening at a time of fastening of the bolt.

The bolt fastening surface20dof the rear strake20is sandwiched in a length direction of the cylindrical portion30b, namely between the flange portion30cand the wheel house outer16.

Moreover, the stepped bolt30includes a stepped portion30ewhich is formed depending on a difference in radial direction between the cylindrical portion30band the screw portion30a. The wheel house inner15and the wheel house outer16are sandwiched between the stepped portion30eand the mounting surface of the plate-shaped member12bto which the nut14is fixed. Note that a length L2between the stepped portion30eand the mounting surface of the plate-shaped member12bis determined depending on thicknesses of the wheel house inner15and the wheel house outer16.

When the wheel house inner15, the wheel house outer16and the bolt fastening surface20dare sandwiched between the stepped bolt30and the nut14to be fastened by the stepped bolt30, the wheelhouse inner15and the wheel house outer16sandwiched between the stepped portion30eand the mounting surface of the plate-shaped member12bare tightly fastened with a high tightening torque as in a normal bolt-tightening. On the other hand, the bolt fastening surface20dsandwiched between the flange portion30cand the wheel house outer16is relatively weakly fastened with a low tightening torque. More specifically, the wheel house inner15and the wheel house outer16each composed of a metallic member of high rigidity are tightly fastened with a high tightening torque, while the rear strake20which is a resin component is moderately fastened with a low tightening torque.

The bolt fastening surface20dof the rear strake20is inserted into the cut-out section11aof the rear inner fender11, and the locating fastening surface20fof the rear strake20is inserted into the cut-out section11bof the rear inner fender11.

<Mounting of the Rear Inner Fender11by Means of the Mounting Part20bof the Rear Strake20>

As shown inFIG. 4andFIG. 5, the mounting part20bincludes the bolt fastening surface20dwhich protrudes by a first protrusion amount t1toward the front of the vehicle and is capable of housing the head portion of the stepped bolt30; the bolt through-hole20e(cut-out section) formed on the bolt fastening surface20d; the locating fastening surface20f(second mounting part) which is disposed away from the bolt fastening surface20dand protrudes by a second protrusion amount t2smaller than the first protrusion amount t1(t1>t2) toward the front of the vehicle; and a through-hole20gformed on the locating fastening surface20f.

The bolt fastening surface20dprotrudes by the first protrusion amount t1toward the front of the vehicle. The first protrusion amount t1is for forming a clearance corresponding to a thickness of the rear inner fender11and thicknesses of a sealer and a grommet not shown. The bolt fastening surface20dallows the rear strake20and the vehicle body to be fastened together while forming the clearance corresponding to the first protrusion amount t1between the bolt fastening surface20dof the rear strake20and the plate-shaped member12b(vehicle body) of the side sill12.

The locating fastening surface20fprotrudes by the second protrusion amount t2toward the front of the vehicle. The second protrusion amount t2is for forming a clearance corresponding to the thickness of the rear inner fender11. The locating fastening surface20fallows the rear strake20and the vehicle body to be fastened together while forming the clearance corresponding to the second protrusion amount t2between the locating fastening surface20fof the rear strake20and the plate-shaped member12b(vehicle body) of the side sill12.

Although in the present embodiment, two fastening surfaces (the bolt fastening surface20dand the locating fastening surface20f) are used for fastening the rear strake20and the vehicle body together, the number of fastening surfaces is not limited to two, but may be one or three or more. Where a plurality of fastening surfaces are provided, a protrusion amount of at least one fastening surface is set to be larger than a protrusion amount of other fastening surfaces. This allows the bolt fastening surface20dhaving a large protrusion amount to form the clearance corresponding to the thicknesses of the sealer and the grommet and the thickness of the rear inner fender11between the rear strake20and the vehicle body. Moreover, the locating fastening surface20fhaving a small protrusion amount is allowed to locate the rear inner fender11with the rear inner fender11being securely sandwiched between the rear strake20and the vehicle body.

Thus, in the present embodiment, the bolt fastening surface20dis allowed to sandwich and fasten the rear inner fender11, the wheel house inner15and the wheel house outer16between the rear strake20and the plate-shaped member12b(vehicle body), and the locating fastening surface20fis allowed to sandwich and fasten the rear inner fender11alone between the rear strake20and the plate-shaped member12b(vehicle body). The locating fastening surface20falso functions as a locating component which prevents backlash and fluctuation of the rear strake20relative to the bolt fastening surface20d.

Hereinafter, description will be given of mounting of the rear strake20in the vehicle body lateral structure1configured as described above.

As shown inFIG. 2andFIG. 4, the end portion of the wheel house inner15and the end portion of the wheel house outer16are overlapped each other on the side of the bolt fastening surface20dof the rear strake20. Then, the rear inner fender11is arranged to allow the cut-out section11aof the rear inner fender11to face the overlapped portion. Then, the rear strake20is arranged to allow the bolt fastening surface20dof the rear strake20to be inserted into the cut-out section11aof the rear inner fender11, and to allow the locating fastening surface20fof the rear strake20to be inserted into the cut-out section11bof the rear inner fender11. The strake main body20aof the rear strake20is brought into a state drooped in the downward direction of the vehicle body.

As shown inFIG. 4andFIG. 5, the screw portion30aof the stepped bolt30is inserted, from the rear side of the vehicle, into the bolt through-hole20eformed on the bolt fastening surface20dof the rear strake20, and the bolt portion30dis turned to allow the stepped bolt30to be fastened to the nut14.

The stepped bolt30is fastened to the nut14to allow the rear inner fender11to be sandwiched between the mounting part20band the wheel house outer16, to allow the bolt fastening surface20dof the rear strake20to be sandwiched between the flange portion30cof the stepped bolt30and the wheel house outer16, and to allow the wheel house inner15and the wheel house outer16to be sandwiched between the stepped portion30eand the plate-shaped member12b.

After completion of the fastening, the rear inner fender11is sandwiched between the mounting part20band the wheel house outer16. The bolt fastening surface20dhas the first protrusion amount t1which is relatively large, thus allowing the rear inner fender11constituted by a resin component to be sandwiched with a moderate force.

Next, as shown inFIG. 4, a bolt (not shown) is inserted, from the rear side of the vehicle, into the through-hole20gformed on the locating fastening surface20fof the rear strake20, allowing the rear strake20and the wheel house inner15to be sandwiched between the locating fastening surface20fand the nut14(seeFIG. 3).

As shown inFIG. 4andFIG. 5, the locating fastening surface20flocates and fixes the rear inner fender11, while forming the clearance which is the second protrusion amount t2corresponding to the thickness of the rear inner fender11, between the locating fastening surface20fof the rear strake20and the plate-shaped member12b(vehicle body) of the side sill12.

Note that the fastening component in the locating fastening surface20fis not limited to the bolt, but any fastening component can be adopted. For example, the manner of fastening by rivets may be adopted.

As described above, the vehicle body lateral structure1according to the present embodiment includes the rear wheel house10which is provided on the vehicle body lateral part to house the rear tire2; the rear inner fender11which covers a face of the rear wheel house10, the face being on the side facing the rear tire2; the side sill12which extends in the front direction of the vehicle in a position anterior to the rear inner fender11; and the rear strake20which is bolted through the rear inner fender11to the side sill12. The rear strake20includes the mounting part20bfor being mounted through the rear inner fender11to the nut (wheel house fastening hole) which is connected to the plate-shaped member12b(vehicle body) in the rear end portion of the side sill12; the bolt fastening surface20dwhich protrudes from the mounting part20bby the first protrusion amount t1toward the front of the vehicle and is capable of housing the stepped bolt30; and the bolt through-hole20ewhich opens from the bolt fastening surface20dtoward the front of the vehicle. The rear inner fender11includes the cut-out section11a(cut-out section) having a larger diameter than the bolt fastening surface20d. The stepped bolt30includes in its axial direction, the screw portion30awhich screws into the nut14fixed to the plate-shaped member12b(vehicle body) of the side sill12; the cylindrical portion30bhaving a larger diameter than the screw portion30aand a smaller diameter than the bolt through-hole20e; and the flange portion30chaving a larger diameter than the bolt through-hole20eand a smaller diameter than the bolt fastening surface20d.

This configuration allows the stepped bolt30to have the cylindrical portion30b(head portion) of the axial length L1, thereby, even if the stepped bolt30is tightly fastened to the nut14, allowing the bolt fastening surface20dof the rear strake20to be sandwiched with a moderate tightening force between the flange portion30cof the stepped bolt30and the wheel house outer16. Moreover, the wheel house inner15and the wheel house outer16are sandwiched between the plate-shaped member12b(vehicle body) and the stepped portion30eformed in the radial direction between the cylindrical portion30band the screw portion30a. Accordingly, even if the stepped bolt30is tightly fastened to the nut14, the bolt fastening surface20dis prevented from getting crushed because a space between the stepped bolt30and the wheel house10is determined by the axial length L1of the cylindrical portion30b(head portion). Moreover, even if the bolt fastening surface20dexpands due to heat, the stepped bolt30is prevented from loosening.

In the conventional art, where resin components are tightened by means of bolts, crush of the resin components is caused when a tightening torque of a bolt is increased, and board thicknesses are changed due to heat expansion and the like of the resin components, thereby posing problems in which the tightening torque of the bolt does not stabilize (or becomes insufficient). On the contrary, in the present embodiment, the bolt fastening surface20dis sandwiched with a moderate tightening force, and accordingly, even if the rear strake20and the rear inner fender11which are resin components are tightened by means of bolts, decrease in the tightening torque due to crush, heat expansion and the like of the resin components is not caused. On the other hand, the wheel house10(the wheel house inner15and the wheel house outer16) can be tightened by means of bolts with a high tightening torque, thus allowing rigidity and strength of the vehicle body to be improved.

Thus, the vehicle body lateral structure1has an advantageous effect that, even if the rear strake20and the rear inner fender11which are resin components are tightened by means of bolts, decrease in the tightening torque due to crush, heat expansion and the like of the resin components is not caused, and an advantageous effect that the wheel house10can be tightened by means of bolts with a high tightening torque to allow rigidity and strength of the vehicle body to be kept.

Moreover, in the present embodiment, the rear strake20includes the locating fastening surface20fwhich is disposed away from the bolt fastening surface20dand protrudes by the second protrusion amount t2smaller than the first protrusion amount t1(t1>t2) toward the front of the vehicle. In addition, the rear strake20is joined at two fastening points by means of bolts to the plate-shaped member12bin the rear end portion of the side sill12. In this case, the rear strake20is mounted parallel to the wheel house inner15and the wheel house outer16, thus not causing disturbance of the air such as encountered in the conventional case where the strake20is mounted at a tilt. Therefore, the rear strake20can be allowed to provide a desired aerodynamic performance.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the wheel house inner15and the wheel house outer16are sandwiched between the nut and the stepped portion30eformed in the radial direction between the cylindrical portion30band the screw portion30a, the wheel house inner15and the wheel house outer16each composed of a metallic member of high rigidity can be tightly fastened with a high tightening torque.

In addition, in the present embodiment, since the mounting part20bincludes the locating fastening surface20ffor being mounted through the rear inner fender11to the plate-shaped member12bin the rear end portion of the side sill12, and the rear inner fender11is sandwiched between the locating fastening surface20fand the wheel house10(the wheel house inner15and the wheelhouse outer16), the rear strake20is joined at two fastening points to the wheel house, thus making it possible to be more reliably mounted and supported on the wheel house.

Although the vehicle body lateral structure according to the above embodiment has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment and thus appropriate modifications are possible within the range not departing from the gist of the present invention.

Although the present embodiment shows, by way of example, the case in which the vehicle body lateral structure is applied to the rear strake arranged at the lower end in the front part of the rear inner fender of the rear wheel house, for example, the vehicle body lateral structure may be applied to a strake arranged at the lower end in the front part of the inner fender of the front wheel house. In this case, the same advantageous effects as the above can be obtained.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST