Vehicle hood hinge assembly

A vehicle hood hinge assembly, comprising:

• a first bracket having a base flange and a side flange that extends upward from the base flange, the side flange having a rear end with a pivot shaft that defines a main pivot axis and a front end of the side flange is spaced apart from the base flange and includes a pivot mount defines a forward swivel joint;
• a second bracket having a forward end and a rearward end, the rearward end being connected to the pivot shaft of the side flange of the first bracket for pivoting movement about the main pivot axis and the forward end being dimensioned and configured to attached to a vehicle hood;
• and
• a linear piston device fixed at a first end to the pivot mount of the side flange of the first bracket for pivotal movement about the forward pivot axis, the linear piston device being fixed to a portion of the vehicle front hood spaced apart from and forward of the forward end of the second bracket, the second bracket being shaped and dimensioned such that during pivoting movements of the second bracket the linear piston has a non-contacting relationship with the second bracket.