A vehicle body hinge mechanism includes at least one hinge set carried by a support plate that retains a pivot pin and a retainer bar in a cantilevered manner. Preferably, the plate is stamped, and the pivot pin supports a lever, such as a gooseneck arm, that will be coupled to the hood. The plate includes a mount that will be carried by peripheral body structure around the hood opening. The retainer bar carries a helically wound spring that secures one end of the spring for resistance to rotation about the axis of the bar. The other end of the spring engages a linkage that urges the lever to pivot toward the open position. Preferably, a stop limit is integrally incorporated in the linkage carried by the plate to stop the lever at a desired hood opening limit.

A latch restraint and safety anchorage system for securing a child safety seat in an automotive vehicle behind the vehicle's seat is provided. One or more latch wires are generally mounted to a cross member of the anchorage system comprised of a pair of spatially separated legs joined at one end by a transverse latch bar. Each leg includes a tapered portion and an end portion. The end portion is exposed to allow the legs to be retained by the cross member.

A vehicle body hinge mechanism includes at least one hinge set carried by a support plate that retains a pivot pin and a retainer bar in a cantilevered manner. Preferably, the plate is stamped, and the pivot pin supports a lever, such as a gooseneck arm, that will be coupled to the hood. The plate includes a mount that will be carried by peripheral body structure around the hood opening. The retainer bar carries a helically wound spring that secures one end of the spring for resistance to rotation about the axis of the bar. The other end of the spring engages a linkage that urges the lever to pivot toward the open position. Preferably, a stop limit is integrally incorporated in the linkage carried by the plate to stop the lever at a desired hood opening limit.

A vehicle body decklid hinge includes at least one hinge set carried by a bracket that retains a pivot pin and a retainer bar in a cantilevered manner. The pivot pin supports a lever, such as a gooseneck strap, that will be coupled to the hood, while the bracket includes a mount that will be carried by peripheral body structure around the decklid opening. The retainer bar carries a helically wound spring that secures one end of the spring for resistance to rotation about the axis of the bar. The other end of the spring engages an adjuster that variably urges the lever to pivot toward the open position. The method and apparatus reduce specificity of components and improve adaptably to various models and styles by reducing adjustments to tension variability in adjusting the biasing force applied to the decklid strap.

A tailgate counterbalancing hinge assembly includes a linear torque rod, a first end assembly and a second end assembly secured to the torque rod. A first end assembly pivotally supports the tailgate while permitting a torque rod end to be rigidly coupled to the tailgate for movement with the tailgate about a pivot axis. A second end assembly also pivotally supports the tailgate and permits the other end of the torque rod to be rigidly connected to the vehicle body. The first end assembly includes a bushing and split pivot body rotatably mounted within the bushing that creates increasing friction between the split pivot body and the bushing as the torque rod is twisted due to the tailgate being opened. The increasing friction creates a progressively increasing braking or dampening effect, which slows the free fall of the tailgate as it is opened.