Jaynen
Jaynen Reader
7/24/12 10:05 a.m.

http://jalopnik.com/5928491/2013-scion-frs-will-it-baby

I at least had been wondering about this specifically. Using a rear facing with a base that also goes onto a stroller (an infant carrier) is probably not quite as large as rear facing in a convertible monstrosity however.

Woody
Woody GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
7/24/12 10:18 a.m.

Once you get to front facing seats (one year for us), I found that it's easier to load a kid into a coupe than a sedan. In a four door, you load from the side and in a two door you set the kid back. It's much easier on your body. It was far easier for me to get my daughter into the 911 than into the WRX. Everybody wins.

szeis4cookie
szeis4cookie Reader
7/24/12 11:12 a.m.

This is probably the most useful thing Jalopnik has done, ever.

grinch77
grinch77 Reader
7/24/12 11:14 a.m.

That's my problem right now can't get the rear facing and the forward facing seat in the sti and still drive comfortably. So I'm stuck drivi g this crap box blazer that gets 13mpg. Only have about two more months then the little one will go to a forward facing seat.

4cylndrfury
4cylndrfury UltimaDork
7/24/12 11:27 a.m.

Used to be that a bouncing bundle of joy rode around in the front bench seat in its mothers arms the way God intended. When they were old enough to hold their head up, they rode in the backseat, strapped down to the white hot vinyl with the single lap belt. Little whippersnappers nowdays got nascar race seats and dvd players showing them those moving picture shows. Damn kids need to get of my damned lawn.

Sincerely, Well adjusted adult who cannot ever remember once being in a carseat as a child

PeterAK
PeterAK Dork
7/24/12 11:29 a.m.

You know the experts now recommend rear facing for two years? We switched at 18 months anyway... She is much happier being able to see us from the back seat.

Tyler H
Tyler H GRM+ Memberand Dork
7/24/12 12:32 p.m.
PeterAK wrote: You know the experts now recommend rear facing for two years? We switched at 18 months anyway... She is much happier being able to see us from the back seat.

I think by law they require some kind of special seat until they get a learner's permit now.

szeis4cookie
szeis4cookie Reader
7/24/12 12:36 p.m.
PeterAK wrote: You know the experts now recommend rear facing for two years?

Berkeley that. We switched a pretty long way before 18 months, our daughter couldn't stand it anymore.

sachilles
sachilles Dork
7/24/12 12:56 p.m.

The child seat can play a huge role in whether they fit or not. We had one that fit fine rear facing in the wrx, and one that did not.

I do wonder when they'll invent the kiddy sized hans device.

dj06482
dj06482 GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
7/24/12 1:37 p.m.

+1 on Woody's comment. I found it far easier to get the kids in the rear seat of my E36 (coupe) than I would have expected. By the time you moved the passenger seat forward, there was actually decent room to get them in/out of the car. Unless you have a minivan or a sedan with large doors, the coupe might be preferable to the smaller rear doors in a "regular" sedan.

mndsm
mndsm PowerDork
7/24/12 1:58 p.m.

Will it Baby? Answer- Graco Snugride 22/25 (skip the 35) if it fits in a MINI (and it does, I have proof) it will fit in anything. Same goes for the Recaro baby seats once you're out of a carrier. I have one in the MINI and one in the ms3. Bonus points for the confused looks we get when we load him throuh the hatchback of the MINI because it's easier.

Jaynen
Jaynen Reader
7/24/12 2:09 p.m.

btw its not even 2 years now, they want you to go rear facing to the limits of the seat in regards to weight/height berkley that indeed. I think my daughter can handle going forward facing with her 5pt harness and big side head protector thingies

Winston
Winston HalfDork
7/24/12 3:12 p.m.
Jaynen wrote: btw its not even 2 years now, they want you to go rear facing to the limits of the seat in regards to weight/height berkley that indeed. I think my daughter can handle going forward facing with her 5pt harness and big side head protector thingies

Yeah, no kidding. berkeley safety; it's just your kids' life, right? You can always make another one.

The reason they want kids facing rearward for as long as possible is because of head/neck injuries that can be sustained in a forward collision. Neither a 5-point harness nor side collision halos will help that (see: Dale Earnhardt). The smaller the kids are, they more susceptible they are to these injuries (though clearly the susceptibility never goes away entirely).

DustoffDave
DustoffDave HalfDork
7/24/12 3:40 p.m.
mndsm wrote: Will it Baby? Answer- Graco Snugride 22/25 (skip the 35) if it fits in a MINI (and it does, I have proof) it will fit in anything. Same goes for the Recaro baby seats once you're out of a carrier. I have one in the MINI and one in the ms3. Bonus points for the confused looks we get when we load him throuh the hatchback of the MINI because it's easier.

Yes on the Recaro, we turned our little guy forward facing at about 9 months because when we put him in backwards, he just screamed the whole time -- and all of us parents know that enough screaming equals barfing. As soon as he got turned around, he loved going in the car.

I remember as a kid, my dad used to build me a "nest" on top of all the luggage in the back of the minivan with my blankets and a sleeping bag -- those were the days...

Mitchell
Mitchell SuperDork
7/24/12 3:42 p.m.

Do european countries and japan have more compact child seats to work with their smaller cars?

B430
B430 Reader
7/24/12 5:45 p.m.
4cylndrfury wrote: Used to be that a bouncing bundle of joy rode around in the front bench seat in its mothers arms the way God intended. When they were old enough to hold their head up, they rode in the backseat, strapped down to the white hot vinyl with the single lap belt. Little whippersnappers nowdays got nascar race seats and dvd players showing them those moving picture shows. Damn kids need to get of my damned lawn. Sincerely, Well adjusted adult who cannot ever remember once being in a carseat as a child

My parents had a spitfire when I was a kid, my spot was behind the seats. Same when they got a fiat spider later. I also remember riding around in my uncles jeep no seat belts and the doors off. And I didn't even die once.

irish44j
irish44j SuperDork
7/24/12 6:13 p.m.
4cylndrfury wrote: Used to be that a bouncing bundle of joy rode around in the front bench seat in its mothers arms the way God intended. When they were old enough to hold their head up, they rode in the backseat, strapped down to the white hot vinyl with the single lap belt. Little whippersnappers nowdays got nascar race seats and dvd players showing them those moving picture shows. Damn kids need to get of my damned lawn. Sincerely, Well adjusted adult who cannot ever remember once being in a carseat as a child

As a 3-year old I rode shotgun in a Triumph GT6, on a booster seat, from Seattle to Rhode Island with my mom driving. Dad was in the old Audi, with my 1-year-old brother in a carseat, towing a 20-foot sailboat. This was in the summer, and they did the southern route to visit relatives in Arizona. In a GT6. With no AC. With a toddler.

A year later mom took both of us and took trains all around Europe (with 2yhear old and 4year old) meeting my dad's ship at all the ports - Naples, Rota, Marseilles, and a few others.

By the time I was 5 or 6, both of us were riding in the rear-facing 3rd row seats in our Volvo 240 wagon. Usually with pillows, toys, and pets crammed all around us like a fort.

As a 7-year old I rode on the back of dad's old Honda motorcycle every day, 25 miles from our house to the base school in the Philippines (where driving laws are nonexistant). And I was usually holding a tee-ball bat with one hand.

kids these days are wusses.

And yes, my 4Runner currently has 2 carseats in it - 1 forward and 1 backward. They both fit fine int he WRX too, though we seldom use that for family outings.

irish44j
irish44j SuperDork
7/24/12 6:21 p.m.

Also during college, in that same GT6, my roommate (6'2 but skinny) used to ride behind the seats in the little parcel ledge, sitting across the car. The girlfriend got the shotgun seat. Even got pulled over twice with him like that and the cop didn't say anything (and this was in the mid-90s!),

Cone_Junky
Cone_Junky Dork
7/24/12 6:48 p.m.

I'm waiting for the reply of the person who was sitting in thier mom's lap when they were kids and got in a major accident... Probably not too many of them around

My kids (actually me) abide by all child seat laws and even more. My kids could have been out of thier child seats before the new law in CA came out last year. But I feel a lot better with them staying in thier little Recaros. Plus they look just like the seats in my race car, so no arguement from them

irish44j
irish44j SuperDork
7/24/12 8:34 p.m.

I assume you'll be trading in that 240sx for something with at least 12 airbags in the near future, correct? ;)

Jaynen
Jaynen Reader
7/24/12 9:08 p.m.

Well anyway. I thought it pretty cool that they tested it for the FRS/BRZ

irish44j
irish44j SuperDork
7/24/12 9:31 p.m.

There is no anyway

It is good, and that makes me think hard that in a few years.......since I'll still need child seat(s) for the kids.....well, ya know.

but we can still go off-topic, haha...

Winston
Winston Reader
7/24/12 10:22 p.m.
Cone_Junky wrote: I'm waiting for the reply of the person who was sitting in thier mom's lap when they were kids and got in a major accident... Probably not too many of them around

This happened to a woman that worked at my elementary school. Her baby was crushed between her and the steering wheel. Really sad. Horrifying, really, if you take a second to think about that moment in gruesome detail, and the moments shortly thereafter.

More on topic, good on Jalopnik for investigating the baby seat question in detail.

Spinout007
Spinout007 GRM+ Memberand Dork
7/24/12 10:34 p.m.

I had to put a car seat in my old third gen camaro for an ex girlfriend of mine, Dang seat had to go in through the hatch, because it wouldn't fit through the massive door and into the back seat.

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