We have a 18 mth golden retreiver bitch and now have a 10 week old dog. The bitch has been trained not to jump out of the back of the car. We have considered a crate before and decided against it but after reading the many positive posts this does seem to be the way forward. Question would a crate max 39 x 25 x 25 inches be big enough for our two? We have a VW Passat estate specifically for the dogs and the width is the max between the wheel arches. 

I have 2 afghans (aged 2 , and aged 14 weeks) in a divided crate in a Renault Laguna Estate. They cope very well. Obviously its more restrictive that way, but I think that is in fact a lot safer in case of accidents, less flying about). Many cages have removable dividers in case you need more space as their behaviour improves. If you get a specialist crate it will slope with the seats, ,making the base bigger, and maximising the space. The sides will also slope. These are all deadly expensive new, but I found one on ebay that was local, and tried it before buying at half the price of new. Its definitely a much safer option. If you can, get one with escape hatches too.
Cathy

That  was really helpful Cathy.  What size is your crate width ways?

I got mine from hamsterbaskets.co.uk

He will make it to size to maximise space, and pretty resonable priced.

Website is worth a look for ideas anyway.

Thanks Tim. I'll get my husband on the case.
Ange

I have a twin cage for my estate from Barjo.  They are not cheap, but excellent quality.  The divider also moves to make one side a little larger then the other if required.  Have a look on www.barjo.co.uk.
Sandra