Your parents are nuts. Ann Arbor to Detroit suburbs is *really* not a significantly-huge commute, all things considered. People drive farther than that for worse jobs all the time. You're an intelligent, capable woman; if everybody else at the company can manage, you can too!

And you can listen to audio-books in the car, so it's not totally wasted time!

As for driving, the only way you'll get better is by doing it. After a few months of driving back and forth, you'll be super.