A large rubber mat to catch fallen food, snacks, drinks. Only half kidding. I drove our 20 mo old twins roundtrip to NC twice last summer. I can not say it was the most enjoyable trip ever and since I was the only adult, even bathroom breaks for me were difficult but the majority of the trips were overall good. Worst was sitting for over 3 hrs in traffic. We went a whopping 1.2 miles in those 3 hours of which the twins screamed most of the time. I had a cooler that I could reach with pre-filled sippy cups, additional bottles of water, juice to refill when we stopped. I also had made little cloth bags for cheerios and crackers and that sort of snack. I can't trust them with plastic bags but the cloth bags worked out well. I made sure the sippy cups fit into their car seat cup holders and bought extras of that type. We do not usually eat fast food but for the trip, I stopped at fast food places that had a place for them to run around a little and stretch their legs. Take toys but watch for how big or hard it is for holding in the carseat. Also, larger, hard toys hurt if they are thrown and hit you. Expect some protests at some point. Our one twin doesn't use a pacie but I took extras and she did use it for a few minutes before falling asleep in her seat. I left at 0 dark early first trip and I thought the kids would go back to sleep but they really didn't. Next trip I left after rush hour traffic and that was better except for the traffic jam. The trips home we left after 6 pm. That was actually the best time for the twins because we ate dinner, then left and by 8 pm they were asleep in their seats. We have traveled as far away as 34 hours with babies, toddlers, kids. Have your plan but also be flexible as to when you stop and where.

Here is another possibility. Collectors do refurbish them, but this lucky toy was loved to death! :)http://www.collectorsworld.net/dinkyracing/t684calfaromeo.htm

How do we, any of us, really know the truth about what happens to this car seat over time? We know what we are told by those whose profits are rooted in the industry. I am not advocating putting our children at risk, but let us not be naieve about how manipulative lobbyists can be for a consumer prouduct. Having anxious parents continuely buying new car seats is very profitable. Singer sewing machine company started this back when they offered a trade in for your old machine when you bought a new one. The old machine was still good and they did not want you passing the machine down, so they collected them with trade in value and destroyed them. Amazingly , a number of them survived. This was an early marketing scheme. Please dont paint me as someone who would put any child at risk. And, yes, I do realize that sewing machines are not saving the lives of children. I am not advocating a cavalier attitude towards child safety. However, it is quite evident that one cant put total trust in any baby.child product . Just look at some of the recalls and law suites that have happened . Some awful things had to happen for some of these recalls to be enacted. But, it would not be the first time that an industry got a law enacted to its benefit. That is what lobbyists do. A good example is the seat being renedered as unsafe after a minor accident that did not involve the seat. As for the seat belts....we use the seat belts in our cars and dont give a though to the notion of them being in the hot car. Those things last forever....quite literally. I saw an article in the media this morning about the state of Maine and the efforts to shift the resposiblity of disposal and recyle to the makers of the products that pose so many problems. Maybe car seats need to be made in some other manner than they are currently or the producers need to be held accountable for providing a means of retiring the prouduct. It is not child safety that I am questioning. However, the fleecing of the general public can be nowhere as strong as it can be when a parents fear is part of the equation. That is one of the most compelling marketing incentives that exists. I dont believe, for one minute, that the marketing gurus have not figured that out and used it fully to their advantage. I shudder to think of the old way that kids rode in cars. We used to ride up in the back window when I was a kid. And, my kids had no car seats in the mid 70s. I am not saying it was as good thing . Clearly it was not safe at any speed. But, this way of going about it is unsustainable. We need a better car seat. We need the industry to do better. Our children are going to have an awful environmental lot to deal with. Both their old car seat and their poopy diapers will still be sitting in a landfill long after their child hood has passed, along with all the old juice boxes and plastic straws and plastic pouches that once held some artificially flavored yougurt of dubious value other than the fact that it had a licensed character printed on it. If it were just car seats that we are dealing with, that would be one thing. But, we are dealing with mountains and oceans full of waste of all manner. I really do think that we could deal with the more important things, such as this, in a much more effective manner if we were not so burdened with such frivilous consumption as we are engaged in. The whole world could live better with less.

Annie, I believe Mtn. is right. If I did a private sale I could be liable for damages, but with a dealership I'm pretty sure we're safe, especially after three years and I already gave the detective all info. I'm sure there's a paper trail someplace. Besides, if I could be in trouble I'm sure he would have told me. He was just shocked the dealer's name wasn't anywhere on the title saying it was "transferred" or whatever. Arcy, the legal system isn't as black and white as you suggest. I'm a 100% positive this has happened many many times, and if the person traded at a dealership, that's even better. LOL Dlm! He alluded to the car being in a bad neighborhood & I'm sure there was suspicious goings on for him run a check on the car. And I could sort of tell that he may have the perp in custody or the car was involved in a crime. Something was going down to run a check on the car. One time DH & I took a day trip and stopped at a roadside diner in a small town. Our young & chatty waitress started telling us about her sister's recent accident. She was in a parking space changing her baby's diaper in the backseat while she stood in front of the open car door. A teenager who was driving his grandmother's car ran right into the door which shut on her, and she was badly hurt. She did nothing wrong. DH gave the waitress his card, they hired him, and he won a significant settlement for the mom. Don't you lawyers love how some clients just fall into your hands? :) Memo to self. Do not let my grandchildren drive my car when they turn 16.