1: We actually DO have the technology to get there in a 39 days of travel time. So your article is false right there. Evidence:
Manned mission to Mars in 2019
2: Size of the craft is variable. It doesn't have to be a "personal space the size of an SUV". Your article just uses such idiocy as a form of propaganda to make it seem as worse as possible to persuade the reader to think it would be a horrible trip.
3: Yes, microgravity is a concern as it does reduce bone mass and such. However 39 days worth of travel in such is not even close to having to worry about that. Sergei K. Krikalev spent 2.2 years on the space station. Microgravity can also be alleviated by producing artificial gravity by simply making the craft spin. The artificial gravity via spin won't completely solve problems associated with microgravity bit it will help alleviate them.
4: Since most of his article is based on the long flight time and not the 39 days I'll ignore much of the rest of the article.
5: Is colonizing Mars going to be hard? Hellz yes. But just because something is hard doesn't mean that it shouldn't, or couldn't, be done.
6: There actually IS a need to go out into the solar system whether you want to acknowledge it or not. Over population of the Earth. Let me guess, you scoffed? Like it or not it IS a very real possibility. We know that ANY system is limited in what it can produce and if that system is over loaded then it will fail. Example: What happens when an electrical outlet tries to draw too much power due to plugging too many things into it? It short circuits. That is what's going to happen here on Earth since our population growth is rising. As evidenced here:
US Census Bureau ~ World Population Clock There will come a time when the resources that the Earth has will be used up due to over population. So going out into the solar system is a must if we are to eventually reach other stars. Which I believe is possible. We just have to advance more in technology, which we can't do if we listen to people like you and the author of the article. The only way that technology advances is through adversity. What better type of adversity is there than aiming for the stars?