The current version of Consumer Reports has an article about car seats. Apparently, the ones made for the U.S. market are inferior to the ones made for other markets such as Europe. CR also mentioned that for many cars, the LATCH system is not as good as using seat belts (I don't know about the G35). Anyway, I only browsed through the article. Folks with kids may want to check it out.

 

I am expecting our first child in a month and a half. I picked up this not too long ago, but haven't took it out of the box yet. http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000F...e&mqnodeid=APS
I plan on trying this in the G maybe this weekend and will post up any thoughts I may have. I'd much prefer having the car seat in the middle.

 

thanks, I'll check out the CR. Congrats on your future kiddo, garnet canuck!

 

I've got one of the protector mats under the seat. It helps but definitely doesn't solve the problem of impacting your leather seats. Both of our cars have leather and it's quite noticable when you remove the seat that the seat had been there. Of course we've never removed the seat for more than a few days so I can't tell if the impact is permanent. I can say that there has been no damage of the leather surface, just indents on the foam seating.

It's very true that different countries have different regulations. We chose the britax because it holds itself to higher standards (and price of course) than US government regs. It's also true that LATCH was meant to be easier, not necessarily safer. The seat belt is if done correctly every bit as safe, in many cases moresafe, but much more variable and flexible. The "if done correctly" is the big part since estimates are that 85-90% of car seats are installed incorrectly.

We had the Graco Metro Lite for her as an infant, which had the snug ride infant seat (I believe) as part of it, but we didn't have the G at that point. We were happy with that, but also had the bases installed in the middle. So we've yet to use LATCH. We liked the Snug Ride and so far heard good things regarding it's safety. There was recently something on the news and I was only paying casual attention but it rated well in higher speed crashes that cause most other seats to fail.

Another random note if you haven't read it elsewhere is that the US Academy of Pediatrics (or whatever it's called) used to recommed rear seating until 29 inches and 22 pounds (or therabouts) which is usually about a year; while most European countries suggest/mandate rear facing for much longer (3-5 years). It's definitely more safe to have them rear seating as long as possible. The US whatever-it-is recently updated to 18 months. I'd bet they would go further except if you look at manufacturer's product lines they are still built around the early flip. I think it's like VDC, where manufacturers have managed to stave off intelligent legistlation with economic pressure.

 

Congrats on the new arrival! Those carriers are so convenient it isn't even funny, but the full size convertable seats are much safer. It is generally agreed that Britax is one of the top carseat makers in the industry. They are easiest to install correctly and the best feature is that the straps don't get tangled. One other nice feature of Britax is that they can be tethered while rear facing. I have probalby had 7 different carseats between the two kids and Britax is the best by far, but they are expensive. I even went so far as to get a full Britax 5 point for my six year old instead of a booster that will worrk until she is 60 lbs, but we keep that one in the van. I have a booster for her in the G, but it isn't nearly as secure as the full car seat.

BTW, booster does not work well in the center as it is not secured.

 

I understand. everyone wants the best for their children. I'm a little opinionated from dealing with some overly protective and endulging family members. I shouldn't pass that on to you. I bet they do make something for the middle hump though, because what happens if you have 3 kids. Good luck in your search.

 

Consumers Reports withdrew its story due to some problems with the way they tested:

"NEW YORK (Jan. 18) -- Consumer Reports is withdrawing its recent report on infant car seats pending further tests of the performance of those seats in side-impact collisions."

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/b...ings/index.htm

 

You probably don't get a sports sedan as your main vehicle!

 

I was able to put 3 car-seats across the back of an E39-series M5. According to the dimensions found online, The BMW only has 2-inches more rear hip-room than the G35, so the 3-across arrangement might work in the Infiniti as well.

Fortunately for me, none of my 4 kids need car seats anymore. I can take them all in the G35 with me if needed. If the whole family (including my wife) needs to go somewhere, the 6 of us go in the Odyssey.

 

Thanks a lot Derp! My sister only has one kid (and that's all she's planning on having), so she will never need to put more then one in the backseat. It's mainly the hump in the middle that she's concerned about.

Just out of curiosity, I see you are in Austin. Did you get your car at Austin Infiniti? How were they to deal with? Who was your salesperson? Were you able to negotiate any on the price? My sister is looking to buy soon....

 

Yes, I bought from Austin Infiniti. I've been told that the dealers in Dallas will make better deals (Grubbs in particular). I bought mine on the last business day of the year, and had been willing to wait until February to get the one I had put on order, so the discount I got may not be normal for them.

The sales rep I delt with was Joe Cassetti. I was satisfied with the way he handled things. He was responsive to both phone and email communication and was able to give a good orientation to all of the car's gadgets and features. He has 4 kids too, so we had that in common.

Rick