Bringing Recaro into Canada

TechnoGranola said:

I was also a little uneasy with one person writing a letter but saying they are representing many Canadian parents, but yet the letter isn't signed by all the Canadian parents (I wasn't around this board when the letter was written so I'm not sure if this person was representing a specific group of parents, but it doesn't come across as that is what happened).

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Nope, unless it happened through PM, the letter was done on a personal initiative. I think the group comment must've been based on moaning and groaning we did when we found out the Recaro's wouldn't be coming after all.

(Ok, maybe it wasn't moaning and groaning, but there was some disappointment. )

My only comment is, if the Recaro is so safe then why doesn't it comply? I personally think (removing my govenment hat) that they doen't feel that they can make a big enough profit here - all companies have to think of that otherwise they would all be bankrupt. That's the main reason that the US has seats that we don't - either they can't comply or there isn't enough money in it for them. To the best of my knowledge (and I could be wrong) TC has never received a package from them to demonstrate compliance. If they have done so, and aren't here, then they don't meet the Canadian requirements.

Allport said:

My only comment is, if the Recaro is so safe then why doesn't it comply? I personally think (removing my govenment hat) that they doen't feel that they can make a big enough profit here - all companies have to think of that otherwise they would all be bankrupt. That's the main reason that the US has seats that we don't - either they can't comply or there isn't enough money in it for them. To the best of my knowledge (and I could be wrong) TC has never received a package from them to demonstrate compliance. If they have done so, and aren't here, then they don't meet the Canadian requirements.

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It sounded to me like the testing was too expensive for Recaro to even start the process (it sounded like the person that wrote the letter had spoken to Recaro and was told this, at least that's what the person implied).

Does it cost the manufacturer a large sum of money to start the testing process?

If we harmonized our testing with the US, the "testing cost" argument would go away.

It's not inexpensive that's for sure, but the smaller companies can afford to do it (Combi, Chicco, etc). Much of the testing done for the US can be accepted in Canada so they really don't have to double up. As to the harmonization.... do you want to loose things like forward facing tethering and energy absorbing foam behind the child's head, special standards for car beds and restraints for the disabled, etc? Some things we are going to harmonize on, but the Canadian standards will always be slightly different due to (what we consider) safety.

Allport said:

... do you want to loose things like forward facing tethering and energy absorbing foam behind the child's head, special standards for car beds and restraints for the disabled, etc?

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No, but if we could convince the Americans to use the same standards, we'd be golden.

wouldn't that be wonderful!!!! Keep some of their stuff, but have them harmonize with us!

Great discussion here...I pretty much agree with everything snowbird has said (for once, LOL, J/K )

"Im not particularily buying the "too expensive to test" argument either. As Allport said, there are many smaller companies doing it, and I can't imagine Recaro is anywhere near financially struggling. Which leaves the question we're all asking... what's the real reason?

I'm also not a fan of the original poster's argument that Recaro is the "safest". I don't think any car seat is the safest overall. We all know it depends on installation, correct use every time, and a number of other variables. Sure they are nice seats. But we have other nice seats here as well. (Especially in the last year or so).

As a parent, I'm not willing to compromise the higher standards of CMVSS testing in order to have more selection. And of course, we would all love if the Amercians followed our lead and adopted our testing, but really that's just a pipedream. Since when does the US government follow our lead?

I hate to bring this post back from the dead, but I wanted to say something that shocked me last year when I was at the PMG labs testing center in Blainville,QC last year for an unrelated project. There are only a handful of centers in Canada that have the testing sled required for Canadian testing of a baby seat. According to the senior engineer there, some child seat companies had rented out the sled all year to block other companies from getting the certification in canada. Add to this that whenever you call TC, you're likely to get a different answer depending on who you talk to, and the inspectors often refer you you to obscure rules buried in texts that almost (but not quite) mimick the US Norms. Since the Canadian market is so small, it's no wonder that many companies don't even bother to do the extra steps to get the certifications, and the people that lose out are the people that are living here...
Too bad, because as a new dad, I would have loved to get my son a Recaro seat.