Patent ID: 8646834

Claim:
A vehicle body structure comprising: at least one vehicle body panel including a roof ditch that is defined by a recessed support surface, a first wall surface extending longitudinally along a first side of the recessed support surface and a second wall surface extending longitudinally along a second side of the recessed support surface, with the second wall surface being disposed outboard of the first wall surface; a cover including a top portion that spans a width of the roof ditch between respective top edges of the first and second wall surfaces, the cover further including a cover attachment section and a molding attachment section, the cover attachment section coupling the cover at a fixed position relative to the vehicle body panel; and a molding member extending in a lengthwise direction along the roof ditch between the first and second wall surfaces of the roof ditch, the molding member including an attachment member mating with the molding attachment section of the cover to form a lengthwise movement connection that retains the cover to the molding member with a predetermined amount of movement along the lengthwise direction of the roof ditch.