Patent ID: 8109535

Claim:
A light truck vehicle, comprising: a light truck frame comprising opposing longitudinal frame rails each having at least a leading portion with a vertical placement defined to substantially align with a passenger car longitudinal energy management structure, wherein the vertical placement of at least a segment of said leading portion of the light truck frame rails is lowered with respect to the remainder of said leading portion and selected to direct impact energy to a passenger car longitudinal energy management structure, thereby improving vehicle-to-vehicle compatibility in the event of a front longitudinal impact with a passenger car, and wherein each frame rail is characterized by the leading portion having a contoured section and frontal section when viewed from the lateral direction, wherein the contoured section is adapted to extend from a position above a front axle downward and forward and the frontal section extends forward and substantially horizontally from the contoured section, with the frontal section having the vertical placement defined to substantially align with a vertical placement of a passenger car energy management structure.