A hood mounting system and methods having compliant hinge assemblies (22) mounted between frontal portions of a hood (14) and the vehicle frame (32). A spring actuator (38, 200) is mounted from the frame and hood which exerts force to assist movement of the hood (14) from the open and closed positions. A locking device (206) is operably connected to the spring actuator (38, 200) and is operable in response to movement of the hood (14) to automatically lock the hood in an open position. The locking device (206) is movable to a release position to permit the hood (14) to move from the open hood position to the closed position.