Honda abandons Dinghy market? maybe not!

Anything Subaru manual shift that suits your fancy. I like the CrossTrek but Forester has much more room behind the back seat. DW and I both prefer manual shift so we still have some choices. Look at Nissan XTerra, solid machine but I think a little heavier than you want.

Consult the Owner's Manual in every candidate you look at, and include a truck scale in your test drive.

I don't really think there is a dingy market per se. 4 down towability is likely very low on the list of design criteria for a new car. If there were a viable dingy market in the eyes of the OEMs, you would likely see wonderful features such as factory baseplates and (gasp) factory installed toad braking systems that were designed and manufactured to actual engineering standards.

Agreed. The car manufacturers are not concerned about keeping or losing our business. We are a tiny sliver of the market and they have much bigger groups to target. That is why Honda no longer makes towables, although I did read that the 2015 Honda Fit is towable with manual trans.

The owners manual can almost always be found online these days. So the best bet is to download the one for your prospective dinghy and see what it says for recreational towing or emergency towing.

I see the Ford Focus is not in the 2015 guide either. :(

well guess what !!