You may be taking harder classes than some of your friends, and some people just have to study more than others. You don't want your schoolwork to suffer just so you can make minimum wage at a retail job. It doesn't make any sense to waste all that tuition money and risk your future career...
No way. He just wants to make more money. I have a 2002 Toyota ECHO (which is much the same as the Yaris, just the previous model), and I've taken it on the freeway for many long trips. It also gets great gas mileage (I get about 38 mpg just around town), and I've had no problems with it at all.