Door assembly and method for a vehicle

A vehicle comprising:

• a body including a forward pillar and a rearward pillar extending in spaced relationship to said forward pillar;
• wherein said forward pillar and said rearward pillar define an opening therebetween;
• a door assembly pivotally disposed in said opening including;
• a door shell extending between a front end and a rear end, wherein said door shell includes an outer panel presenting an interior surface opposing an exterior surface and an inner panel operatively connected to said outer panel;
• a hinge plate operatively attached to said inner panel, at said front end;
• wherein said front end of said inner panel is pivotally attached to said forward pillar;
• a latch plate operatively attached to said inner panel, at said rear end;
• wherein said latch plate is configured to selectively latch said door assembly to said rearward pillar;
• wherein each of said hinge plate and said latch plate are configured to transfer loads between said door shell and the vehicle;
• a support panel disposed between said outer panel and said inner panel and presenting a first surface opposing a second surface, wherein said first surface of said support panel faces said interior surface of said outer panel;
• wherein said support panel is attached to only said outer panel of said door shell such that said support panel provides bending resistance to said outer panel when said outer panel is deflected toward said inner panel a first deflection distance;
• a cable operatively connected to said front end of said door shell at said hinge plate and said rear end of said door shell at said latch plate, wherein said cable is configured to extend in slack relationship between said front end and said rear end of said door shell when the first deflection distance is reached;
• and
• wherein said cable is configured to become engaged when the first deflection distance is reached to provide additional resistance to movement of said outer panel when said outer panel is deflected toward said inner panel.