When kayak on the roof/roof rack, always used bow and stern lines with regular side to side lines. Now I have mini van long enough to put the old Walden inside the van with seat behind driver available for passenger. Slides right in thru rear door! Tie downs used inside too!
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We have had our two main kayaks on top of the car pretty much all season… I can still get it (mostly) in the garage 
Just a few feet at the back hang out on the shady side of the building.
With most everything else we need in the back of the Crosstrek, we can get on the road very quickly.
I think you replied to me by mistake.
Problem I think is the cross bars are so close together on most new vehicles it’s nearly a seesaw.
You may want to take some time to learn about rooftop systems before dissing them all. Not all of us have the ability to keep or park a truck. Anything that cannot keep people plus stringed instruments warm for cold weather trips is not useful for me. And even if l wanted a truck in addition, l have no easy place to park it.
I happen to use regular, not cam, straps. But cam straps are just the regular ones on steroids. Does not require a college degree to figure them out.
I do just fine with a minivan and roof racks. Did pretty well with my girlfriend’s Nissan Maxima with roof pads too, even up to 75 mph on the highway. It just depends on your ability to properly and safely strap it down and using bow and stern lines for safety. You don’t need 1000 pound cargo capacity or several thousand pound towing capacity for a 60 pound plastic boat.
You might gain some more experience before judging… I know people including me who have successfully carried boats across country many times with … oh horrors a car. Roof racks have load limits of course and quality ones can handle even a voyageur canoe… One of my friends carries a 26 foot boat from NY to the Yukon for the big races… On a car… Every year.
It does get funky with some of the car designs that don’t allow much rack spread.
I am laughing at “heavy kayaks”… Our heaviest boat is 55 lbs. Most of them are in the 23-35 lb range.
Rec kayaks are IMO harder to transport and a utility trailer with sides makes sense. We camped next to a family of seven who each had their own kayak and the kayaks were transported in a lawn care trailer. They all fit stacked and ratchet straps over them ensured their non escape( as the trailer had sides). Ratchet straps are an issue with hulls as you can over tighten too easily and crack or deform the hull but none of the hulls were touched by them.
Trailers have some advantages. Easy to load, easy to secure a boat, and can carry other gear.
However there are many disadvantages. Higher initial cost, licensing, insurance, maintenance, increased tolls, difficulty in parking, cost of a tow package if you do not already have one, etc. Here in Maryland all but one county allows launching a cartop boat for free at public ramps or launch sites. All counties, if you have a trailer, require a fairly expensive county specific trailer permit.
Ouch…article says wife was in the car but uninjured…she got to see her husband die.
Would be interesting to learn why the rack came off. There are some super-cheap racks for sale on Amazon these days; some have reviews complaining of structural failures.
China, try suing a company in China.