Having driven my share of vehicles that I would describe as "having character" and my wife would describe as "a shitbox" I can answer.
All the quirks eventually become part of your muscle memory for driving that car. At first while you're figuring out the quirks maybe it takes your mind off of traffic a bit.
After a while though, you know that you have to hesitate and wiggle the gear lever just so to get 2nd, and do it without thought.
Conpare it to using vi or emacs. At first it's a lot of thought to just move the cursor around. With practice, it's fluid and second nature.
All the quirks eventually become part of your muscle memory for driving that car. At first while you're figuring out the quirks maybe it takes your mind off of traffic a bit.
After a while though, you know that you have to hesitate and wiggle the gear lever just so to get 2nd, and do it without thought.
Conpare it to using vi or emacs. At first it's a lot of thought to just move the cursor around. With practice, it's fluid and second nature.