Patent ID: 8256825

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 hinge including a base component and an arm component pivotally coupled to the base component, with the base component being mounted to the recessed support surface of the roof ditch and the arm component including a vehicle door mounting structure; and a vehicle door being fixed to the arm component by the vehicle door mounting structure, which defines at least one fastening point that is situated at a location outboard of the second wall surface of the roof ditch, the vehicle door mounting structure being attached to an interior surface of the vehicle door that faces a direction parallel to a longitudinal direction of the roof ditch when the vehicle door is closed.