Apparatus and methods for vehicle structural or semi-structural component assembly enabling tunable deceleration characteristics

A method, comprising:

• forming, using a mold, a structural or semi-structural component for a vehicle from a polymer composite material comprising a glass mat thermoplastic which includes a chopped fiber glass mat reinforced polypropylene laminate with randomly oriented glass fibers, the component comprising a first member;
• positioning a flexible reinforcement material within the mold;
• and
• over-molding the flexible reinforcement material onto the first member only at one or more localized positions on the first member, and not on the entire first member, to form one or more sensor mount portions at the one or more localized positions.

A method for a vehicle structural or semi-structural component assembly, the method comprising:

• forming, using a mold, a structural or semi-structural component for a vehicle from a polymer composite material, the component comprising a first member, a second member opposed from the first member, a third member positioned between and at one end of the first and second members, a fourth member opposed from the third member and positioned between and at an end of the first and second members opposite the third member, and a cross member connected between the third and fourth members;
• over-molding a flexible reinforcement material onto the polymer composite material at one or more locations within the mold to form one or more locations along the cross member;
• and
• directly attaching a sensor to the flexible reinforcement material at at least one of the one or more locations along the cross member.

A method of retrofitting a vehicle structural or semi-structural component assembly, the method comprising:

• removing an existing metal sensor mount from an existing vehicle structural or semi-structural component;
• replacing the existing metal sensor mount with a new sensor mount comprising a glass mat thermoplastic having a flexible reinforcement material over-molded therein, the glass mat thermoplastic including a chopped fiber glass mat reinforced polypropylene laminate with randomly oriented glass fibers;
• and
• mounting a crash sensor on the new sensor mount.