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So, after doing a bunch more research, I figured I'd report back in case anyone else is interested. Thule and Yakima both do NOT recommend any of their canoe car-topping products for the FR-S/BRZ, period. The dealer I spoke with in person mentioned a whole host of issues including aerodynamics, visibility problems, large amount of front and back overhang, etc. I DID put the canoe on top of the car at home w/ the four foam blocks just to check it out; there certainly was a lot of overhang and it did interfere with front visibility but mostly up; I could still see where I was going and left and right, anything above eye level and slightly to the right was blocked by the canoe. Probably not good. My canoe is pretty long and wide (16' x 36" beam, I think) so the weight was distributed towards the outside edges of the car's roof, but even so there was more flex in the roof than I was comfortable with, too. The canoe weighs 59 pounds. Another strike.
Just for kicks, in my quest to find places to tie down, I put a two-bike trunk rack on the car (that I used to use on my 325i). It fit fine and mounted securely, but I don't think I'd use that either. The thin metal of the trunk lid sure flexed a lot under even a little bit of test-twisting motion applied one-handed to the mounted rack.
Sooo, at least so far, I've ruled out car-topping a big canoe and using the trunk-mounted bike rack; the ML500 is now the official outdoor recreation family vehicle, period. I guess there's a price to pay when designing a small, light, cheap sports car; the roof and trunk lid panels are much flimsier than other (german) cars I've had in the past. On the plus side, it still hauls anything I can fit INSIDE the car just fine, and you can fit a lot in there. No complaints, but a little disappointed.
Thanks again for the help.
Barry
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