A damped hinge assembly for mounting a first member for rotational movement relative to a base member about a hinge axis is provided. The assembly includes a first linearly acting damping device, and first camming means for converting rotational movement of the first member in a first direction into linear actuation of the first damping device to cause it to impart a damped resistive force to the first member over at least part of its movement in said first direction. The first damping device is mounted with its linear axis coincident with the hinge axis, with the first damping device acting as a fulcrum for said rotational movement of the first member.

The disclosure relates to a positioning mechanism for holding a lid element of a vehicle in an intermediate position between a fully open position and a fully closed position. The positioning mechanism comprises a base component, a first friction block carrying a first friction surface, a counter surface, and an engagement element. The first friction block is supported on the base component via two pivotable first lever arms such that the two first lever arms, the friction block, and a portion of the base component form a first parallelogram. The counter surface faces the first friction surface and is arranged in parallel to the first friction surface such that the first friction surface and the counter surface define a movement channel extending along a movement channel direction. The engagement element is receivable in the movement channel and the first lever arms are inclined with respect to a movement channel direction.