Vehicle body structure

A vehicle body structure, comprising:

• a dash panel for defining a boundary between a vehicle cabin and the exterior of the vehicle cabin, the dash panel being provided by extruding a material of light metal in the width direction of the vehicle, with a closed-sectional structure having an inner wall on the side of the vehicle cabin and an outer wall on the exterior side of the vehicle cabin;
• a reinforcement member positioned under the dash panel and joined to the dash panel for its reinforcement, the reinforcement member being made of a casting of light metal;
• and
• a suspension mount bolt inserted into the reinforcement member being cast, the suspension mount bolt projecting from the reinforcement member downward;
• and
• positioning means for positioning the dash panel and the reinforcement member mutually and engaging the dash panel with the reinforcement member.

A vehicle comprising:

• a dash panel for defining a boundary between a vehicle cabin and the exterior of the vehicle cabin, the dash panel being provided by extruding a material of light metal in the width direction of the vehicle, with a closed-sectional structure having an inner wall on the side of the vehicle cabin and an outer wall on the exterior side of the vehicle cabin;
• a reinforcement member positioned under the dash panel and joined to the dash panel for its reinforcement, the reinforcement member being made of a casting of light metal;
• and
• a suspension mount bolt inserted into the reinforcement member being cast, the suspension mount bolt partially projecting from the reinforcement member downward;
• and
• a locating pin coaxially fixed with the suspension mount bolt to project from an essential part of the reinforcement member upward;
• a locating hole formed in the outer wall of the dash panel, for engagement with the locating pin;
• and
• separating means for separating the reinforcement member from the dash panel when the locating pin is subjected to a downward axial force more than a stated value.