Patent ID: 7000976

Claim:
A six-door vehicle having bending/torsion stiffness and torsion modal frequencies that are almost equivalent to a conventional four-door vehicle body, comprising: “A”, “B” and “C” pillars, the opening between said “A” and “B” pillars defining a front door opening, and the opening between said “B” and “C” pillars defining a rear door opening; a front door pivotally attached to said “A” pillar; a rear door pivotally attached to said “B” pillar; a forward facing rear door pivotally attached to said “C” pillar; a vehicle side structure further having a rocker at a bottom portion of the rear door opening; a roof rail at a top portion of the rear door opening; a vertical reinforcement beam disposed within said forward facing rear door and extending from said roof rail to said rocker; a side door latch connected to said rear door; and a side door latch striker connected directly to said vertical reinforcement beam to engage said side door latch to resist inward movement of said rear door and said forward facing rear door from said closed position with respect to the side structure upon imposition of an excessive or side intrusion load on an outer panel of said rear door and said forward facing rear door.