New York Consumer News

YONKERS, N.Y. (CBS/AP) ― Most of the infant car seats tested by Consumer Reports "failed disastrously" in crashes at speeds as low as 35 mph, the magazine reported Thursday.

The seats came off their bases or twisted in place, the report said. In one case, a test dummy was hurled 30 feet.

Of the 12 car seats tested, Consumer Reports said it could recommend only two, and it urged a federal recall of the two poorest performing seats, the Evenflo Discovery and Eddie Bauer Comfort.

Evenflo issued a statement disputing the tests' validity, saying, "The magazine's test conditions and protocols appear to conflict with the collective experience of car seat manufacturers, NHTSA (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and the scientific community."

To be sold in the United States, an infant seat must perform adequately in a 30 mph frontal crash, and Consumer Reports found that all but the Discovery did so. But it noted that NHTSA crash tests most cars at higher speeds -- 35 mph for frontal crashes and 38 mph for side crashes -- so the magazine tested the seats at those speeds.

"It's unconscionable that infant seats, which are designed to protect the most vulnerable children, aren't routinely tested the same as new cars," said Consumer Reports' Don Mays, a product safety director.

NHTSA Administrator Nicole Nason issued a statement saying: "We are always interested in making car seats better and safer but not more complicated and difficult for parents. ... We don't want consumers misled into thinking holding a child is better than putting it into a car seat."

Nine seats failed some or all of the higher-speed tests, Consumer Reports said, while meeting the federal 30 mph standard. Another seat was judged unacceptable because it did not fit well in several cars, the magazine said.

Messages seeking comment were left with the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, a trade group.

The magazine tested the type of seat that faces the rear and snaps in and out of a base. It used test dummies weighing 22 or 30 pounds, depending on the seat manufacturers' claims.

In the 35 mph test, seats separated from their bases, rotated too far or would have inflicted grave injuries, Consumer Reports said. At 38 mph, four seats flew out of their bases, it said.

The only seats that passed all the tests were the Baby Trend Flex-Loc and the Graco SnugRide with EPS -- expanded polystyrene foam -- both selling for about $90. Consumer Reports urged parents shopping for seats to buy one of those two, but it also noted, "any child car seat is better than no seat at all."

It also said some seats performed better when attached by vehicle safety belts than when attached with the LATCH system. The system, which stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children, includes belts that hook the base of a car seat to metal anchors in the vehicle.

Infant Seats That Failed Consumer Reports Testing
--Chicco KeyFit
--Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP
--Compass 1410
--Evenflo Embrace
--Britax Companion
--Graco SafeSeat
--Safety 1st Designer
--Combi Centre

Consumer Reports Recommends Recall
--Evenflo Discovery
--Eddie Bauer Comfort

Consumer Reports Recommendations
--Trying the Chicco KeyFit, Compass I410, Evenflo Embrace, or Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP with vehicle safety belts, which passed their tests and not with LATCH, which didn't. If you can't get a tight fit with the safety belt, buy one of the two seats they recommend.
--Secure your child in the center-rear seat if the car seat can be tightly fastened there.
--Call your local police precinct to find a free car-seat inspection station.

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)