[SusanMae]

Glad to hear you are planning on staying RF as long as possible. (I won't tell your teachers about your run-on's if you don't tell mine. I tend to type like I speak.)

The radian is the narrowest convertible seat out there, but a seat that sits up on a base may get a better fit. I haven't had personal experience with such a bucketed back seat---so again I reccomend going someplace where you can try before you buy. I've taken seats out to my car at both BRU and TRU. When you try a seat out, try both ways. It's reccomended that children remain harnessed to 5-6 yrs. And well those reccomendations may change by the time your little one gets to that point. Car safety for children is something we learning more and more about---improvements are being made very frequently. I would also check the Cosco Scenera. It's about $43 at Wal-Mart--and returns there are easy. If you can't find a Radian locally to try, you can buy on target.com and return to the store.

You can't put anything under a seat when it's forward facing because it wasn't tested that way is the simple answer. I don't have my training manual in the house(and it's cold out), but if I remember correctly it has to do with how far forward their head moves. There is an allowable amount--and any more is deemed too dangerous. Also when you use the seat in a way that is not reccomended by the car maker or the seat maker you void the warnenty AND any liability should something happen to your child in a crash...in essense you've made your precious child into a crash test dummy.

For the board...even attached to the car... In a crash the G-Forces will cause the board to break, then make the carseat loose, and run the risk of injuring your child. Again...child becomes real life crash test dummy. The one that is under your seat is attached per manufacturer specs...and I'm not going to pretend that I begin to understand the engineering that goes into those designs. I do know that there federal regulations(FMVSS) that tell what gets used and how it gets used, ect. And they are tested extensively.

LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren. All cars made in Sept 02(I'm real close on that date) and after have this system. You canNOT have the lower anchors retrofitted in most cars. I think the only brand that does this is Audi. No reputable shop would take this on...as it's a HUGE liability for them when it fails in a crash.

You're welcome. I can tell your a dad who cares about their child and wants to do what's best, otherwise you wouldn't be here trying to find answers to your questions. I understand not wanting to purchase a new car--one of ours is paid for as well. We live in the sticks and there is little to no public transportation.

I do think that with where your seatbelt buckles are---it may play a role in whether or not you can safely secure a child seat there or not. Unfortunately some cars are just not compatible with carseats.

I hope I'm doing a decent job of answering your questions.

Susan

	Forward Facing Car Seats A forward-facing car seat is one in which the child sits facing the front of the car. The seat should be installed in the back seat of your vehicle. Most forward-facing only seats are for children above 20 pounds.

	Rear Facing Car Seats A rear-facing seat is one in which the infant faces the back of the car. Always install a rear-facing seat in the back seat of your car. This is the safest position for an infant. NEVER place a rear-facing seat in the front seat of a vehicle with passenger airbags.

	Convertible Car Seats Convertible seats are for infants and toddlers. The seat can be used as a rear-facing seats for younger children, and switched to a forward-facing seat on the child's first birthday if the child weighs at least 20 pounds. However, experts recommend keeping the child in a rear-facing position until he or she outgrows the weight or height allowed by the safety seat.

	Sunshine Kids Radian 80 or 65 - Click for more info If "the Sunshine Kid's Radian 80 convertible car seat is (probably) the only car seat you will ever need," the "probably" part of this statement comes into play when you directly compare the Radian 80 with the Britax Regent. While the Radian 80 has a very high weight capacity, the seat width is only 10" vs. the Regent's 14" seat. The Britax Regent may be a bit wider, but it is very bulky, is only forward facing, and does not fold like the Radian 80. Because the Radian 80 is so narrow, you can potentially put three of them side by side in the back seat. Three Regents side by side? Impossible.

	LATCH LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren. It is a system mandated by the Federal government in an effort to standardize and simplify the installation of child restraints without using the vehicle's seat belt system. New vehicles and child safety seats manufactured on and after September 1, 2002 will be equipped with the LATCH system. Cars, minivans, and light trucks will be required to have anchor points between the vehicle's seat cushion and the seat back in at least two rear seating positions, and a top tether anchor (with the exception of convertibles). Child safety seats will have a lower set of attachments that fasten to the vehicle anchors. Most forward-facing child safety seats will also have a top strap (tether) that attaches to the top anchor in the vehicle.