"I know, it's like learning to drive on a Mercedes, only to find you'll be driving a Kia in the real world. ."
Close analogy - when they are deprived of their government supplied Mercedes and have to be retrained when the companies only supply BMW's.
"You can do it,, but it won't be pleasant"
That's what I meant about them not being prepared for the real world ... kind of like when they used to teach Latin or Esperanto in schools
They will be. Using a Mercedes is close enough to using a Buick (I wouldn't go for BMW, but I'll give you more than Kia), that slipping into the other won't be hard. Sure, it handles poorly compared to the Mercedes, various buttons are in different places, it's not as safe to use, and you won't get there as fast, but it doesn't take long to be able to use it well.