Chevrolet Equinox: Guide for Child Seat Placement is an Industry First

Austin, TX March 24, 2004; Chevrolet is breaking new ground by making child safety seat information more accessible to consumers during the shopping process. Starting with the all-new Chevrolet Equinox, the division is making information about child safety seat installation more accessible to consumers shopping for a vehicle.

Specific pages on the Chevy website tell customers exactly how many car seats a vehicle can hold, where the seats can be placed, and where to find the Lower Anchors and Top tethers for CHildren (LATCH) hardware. In the case of the all-new Equinox, the rear seat can accommodate up to three child safety seats.

"This is an industry first led by Chevrolet," says Equinox Marketing Director Margaret Brooks. "Until now, it was not this easy to determine whether a particular vehicle could fit a family's needs. This new information on the Chevy website makes it easier for customers to understand a vehicle's ability to accommodate child seats."

The child seat web pages can be accessed from the main vehicle sections of the Chevy site through a series of steps, or directly at www.chevy.com/childseats. The site provides diagrams with directional arrows indicating exactly where each seat's LATCH hardware is located in the vehicle.

"With all the choices on the market, it can be confusing to understand the intricacies of each individual vehicle. We think this module provides extra help as a convenience to parents, grandparents, caregivers -- anyone who transports children in the Equinox."

Brooks cautions that parents should carefully review both the child safety seat and vehicle owner's manuals to be sure seats are properly installed.

"The information we provide for the Equinox is for placement only," Brooks says. "Parents should use the child safety seat recommended for the child's age and size, and they should consult both the vehicle and safety seat manuals to be sure they properly install any seat."

Chevrolet will provide similar web pages for it's all-new Aveo, which debuted earlier this year. The division is in the process of developing this information for other vehicles in the Chevy lineup. In addition, Chevy is including this information as a part of dealer training to help sales staff assist consumers.