Hope everyone had a happy and safe Thanksgiving. We just added a 1994 NA 940 wagon to our rolling stock and I just installed a rear facing car seat with a standard seat belt install. It was very easy, though I had to use a locking clip for the belt because the seat belt would not lock consistently when tightening the belt to get a 'good' install. The 940 has two metal tabs poking up from the seat track which can be used to tether a rear-facing seat to the floor (if the seat is able to do so - Britax and Diono are two brands that allow rear facing tethering). These tabs are for Swedish car seats that support up to 55 lbs kids rear facing.

[On soapbox]: My son is 25 months and still sits rear facing because studies have shown rear facing children are 5 times less likely to be injured or killed in an accident when rear facing (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/121/3/619.full). I used to be a volunteer EMT and have seen first hand terrible accidents where rear facing children only have minor scrapes. Kids emerge in much worse shape when they are forward facing in similar accidents. A child's body is not developed enough to support the head in a violent collision - rear facing solves this problem. See also this NYT story: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/health/policy/22carseat.html?_r=0

My friends laugh at me, but if I see someone at the store or in a parking lot putting a young kid into a forward facing seat, I don't hesitate to politely discuss the benefits of rear facing. Usually my son is with me so I don't look like a total crazy man and can show other parents how it works in my own vehicle.

So, this holiday season if you're taking your taking any kids under 2 (or even older if the seat will support it) in a forward facing seat or see any loved one doing the same, consider digging out the car seat manual to figure out if the seat will fit the child rear facing (height is as important as weight) and turn the seat around. [off soapbox]

If you have any questions about what kind of seats work best for rear facing, don't hesitate to PM me. I spent an inordinate amount of time researching various makes and models and on car-seat.org. There are fantastic seats that allow kids to rear face up to 40 pounds for well under $100.

Sorry - it says its too late to edit the title. The impetus for this post was finding all 3 of my nieces and nephews improperly restrained this weekend. The 10 month old was forward facing (illegal in Indiana), the 3 year old was forward facing in a seat that was too small (turned her rear facing and helped brother in law pick out a new seat that fit), and the 6 year old was in a booster which didn't provide enough "boost" and the seat belt was across her neck. They're all squared away now. We got a mirror so the 3 year old can be seen by the driver and angled it such that she can also watch the van's DVD player on trips. Seeing that scared the crap out of me since car accidents are the leading cause of injury/death for kids.

A guy sells true 'Swedish' rear facing child safety seats online. They are technically illegal in the US as they have not been tested by NHTSA, however, I spent many hours researching various car seats for our family and believe a Swedish seat could - in certain circumstances - be worth the investment. I don't use these as my son is still under the 45 lbs rear facing weight limit for my rear facing seat. They're also $400+ (http://www.carseat.se/swedish-car-seats/).

Note that the 940s at least have the mounting clips on the back of the front seat tracks to lock a Swedish seat into place.

Nick - Thanks for the info - unfortunately, I thought you were talking about station wagon seats.

Can you edit your post to say child seats?
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'96 855R,'64 PV544 driver, '67 P1800 basket case, '72 Yamaha Rd400, '68 Honda 350-4, '12 XC70, the first 5 are mine, heh, heh, 525,000 miles put on 10 bricks James A Sousa