Interesting article. While debunking peak oil they claim that oil production will peak in 20-25 years! Seems like the only difference between the authors and the strawman theory that they are debunking is the date of the peak. Another look at the CERA study: Congressional peak oil caucus responds to CERA study

Smaller vehicles do just fine towing beach cats. I have had no trouble with crosswinds or braking with my old Subaru wagon. The four wheel drive helps a bunch in marginal conditions, and I tend to run wider tires than stock which also helps. You lose more in highway mileage than a big vehicle because the boat sticks out into the airstream more. With a big truck, the boat is mostly in the wind shadow of the truck.