I'd take him up on it. Let him drive yours, then swap when you get back. As long as you have the same tranny as he does, and you know to drive it, he should be ok with that - I would be, especially being your dad's friend. I know that I did cringe a little bit when guys didn't shift the way they should. Keep the revs up reasonably, shift smooth, and don't burn out the clutch by riding it.
Not many people have a chance to drive a Fcar. Seems like a good opportunity to me! Go for it!
And yeah it's kind of like traction control, with a few more parameters thrown in the software mapping to control more than just the driving wheels.
