Car restraints - 4 dogs 1 subcompact - UPDATE

[Cindy M, Zachary & the Frenchies]

Well, I now have 4 dogs and 1 subcompact (Toyota Echo). The truth is I have not been restraining them and that is bad. They don't always stay in the back and more than once I have been focusing on the dogs rather than the road. So now that Zachary has arrived, I will in no time have a 60lb dog in addition to the 3 smaller dogs (betwee 30 -16 lbs). They will all fit in the car,and there are enought buckles for all of them, but someone is going to have to ride in the front seat, which concerns me because of the airbag. I can't realistically disable it because of liability if I have a human passenger (I don't have the ability to switch it on and off). I thought I saw a hard shell seat for a small dog that was made for cars with airbags but can't find it any more.

What have other people done - I can't be the only person with a clown car situation!!

 

UPDATE

 

I found the hard shell front seat car seat that I had been looking for. It only support dogs 20 pounds or less, but it will support Zoey. The site is Doggy driving - I can't post a picture (it wouldn't copy) but the link to the site is below.It is made to support the impact of the air bag and somehow the shape protects the dog from getting hit.  

http://www.doggiedriving.com/Home.html

 It is crazy expensive though,so I will have to consider all the great ideas that people have posted along with the seat and if anyone else has others I would love to hear them.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Are you sure that your front passenger seat doesn't disengage the airbag if the passenger isn't heavy enough.  I didn't realize that mine did until one day I let Sophie sit in the front seat for a short trip and I noticed a light on that isn't normally on and it said Passenger side airbag off.

[Cindy M, Zachary & the Frenchies]

I'll check the owner's manual - I know that there is not a light that comes on. I put stuff on the seat all the time that would trigger a light if there was one. When i first got the car I was freaked out about the air bags because they had only been around for a few years and a few people had been severely injured/killed by them. I can't sit 15 inches away from the steering wheel, so the the sales person spent tons of time talking me off the ledge and telling me about how to safely use the car and air bags. Maybe they have more features than I remember.

[Cindy M, Zachary & the Frenchies]

Just had to add a quick follow up - I was at the vet with Zach for his second set of shots. A woman was sitting in a Honda Civic and she had 3 Great Danes in the back seat. All sitting quietly but that was one small car with a huge mass of dog in the back - at first I was confused - because it seemed liked their was one too many heads for the number of dogs - but as I got closer I could see the third dane was  smooshed in the middle. That indeed would look like a clown car when they unloaded.