Patent ID: 7267395

Claim:
A vehicle body structure comprising: a center pillar; a rear quarter pillar; an aperture part defined by the opening and closing of a rear door, wherein the center pillar is disposed on a front side of the aperture and the rear quarter pillar is disposed on a rear side of the aperture; a roof side rail formed in a top part of a vehicle body side part, the roof side rail further comprising a step part extending in a lengthwise direction of the vehicle body structure from the center pillar to the rear quarter pillar, the step part further including a bottom wall, a side wall and a standing wall, wherein the standing wall is joined to the bottom wall and the side wall and defines a front end part of the roof side rail, said standing wall extending transverse to the lengthwise direction of the vehicle and serving to reinforce a forward end of the roof side rail; and, a roof arch extending in a widthwise direction of the vehicle body structure, wherein the center pillar and the roof arch are joined to the roof side rail in the vicinity of the standing wall such that said roof side rail interconnects said center pillar and said roof arch while said standing wall reinforces said roof arch and said center pillar, and wherein the roof arch is operatively attached to a top surface of the roof side rail.