Child Restraint conversion.

One of the things that people seem to forget, too, is that one of the reasons we have airbags, extra restraints, now, etc. is because the CAFE laws have forced the car manufactures to lighten the cars up. Less metal, ie, thinner gauge, more plastic in the outer shell.

We got my wife's '87 5th Ave this way. A 16 year old bought it, but his mom wouldn't let him have it because it didn't have airbags, ABS, it had *gasp* a V8! (yeah, a 318 2bbl, big deal). But the M-bodies were the safest cars on the highway in the '80s and much into the '90s (Volvo's claims be damned).

Ever seen the side impact beam in an E-body? Damned things are huge and
makes the door heavy.

And don't forget the factor of a unibody. Those little crimps and wrinkles in the floors are crumples zones, even back then, before the PR guys decided to market them as such.

You're upgrade is a good piece of mind for the wife, but really, the A-body is a safe car. There's a lot there to absorb and cushion a hit and the belts are good things as long as they are cinched properly.