Using car seats in the back of a station wagon? Ok or Not?

[mykidsmylife]

I know it is not okay b/c I read it in the car manual and carseat manual...
But why isnt it okay? Someone is asking me and I dont even know why! She has her 2 kids FF in the back and wants to know if it is the same as rear-facing. Obviously it isnt but I need to know what to tell her....

Thanks so much

[Qarin]

We could speculate, but fundamentally it's because either the car seats haven't been tested that way, or they've been tested that way and failed. If the latter, then well obviously you don't want to use them that way, and if the former (haven't been tested), then you're setting your kids up as crash test dummies, all you need now is a wall to smash into to see how the seats perform...

[TerisBoys]

Also- MOST brands of station wagons, the cargo area is out of the reinforcing cage. In other words, it's a crumple zone.

Volvo (I think) is the exception to the rule.