I'd go with the Camaro V8 personally.

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The camaro is considered a pony car.  Many people will call it a muscle car
because most people have a better idea of what that is.  It's built for
moderate performance and a sporty feel.

The Cavalier is a economy vehicle.  It's for people who can't afford
something better and don't want anything fancy or can't afford anything
better.

What kind of car are you looking for?  Fast?  Cheap?  family car?  something
to get you from A to B?  The two cars are vastly different in their use and
functionality.

-Bruce

You're talking about two cars that are polar opposites.

The REAL question is what do you [dis]like about each?
In my opinion, a person that would choose the Camaro
wouldnt consider the Cavalier and vice-versa.

With that said, my '95 Z28 is my 6th Camaro (all Zs)
and I really enjoy it.

Rotten assembly quality and godawful headlamps ("don't drive at night"
variety), but if you're a 17-year-old who wants to go fast in a straight
line and don't care about NVH or parts falling off, they're fine. Passably
reliable if not abused, which most of them have been by this point, given
the target demographic.

Cadavaliers of any year and any engine are all the same: Frightfully bad
ergonomics, thoroughly mediocre in every respect, but extremely durable.
Sort of like cockroaches: They carry on living long past the point you've
even given up wishing they'd die.

My opinion: Lay off the drugs.

I'd get the car that's in the better condition, period.  Also check
insurance since Camaros have very high theft rates and may be
classified as sports cars, both which increase premiums.  The Camaro
V-6 is actually decent -- it's no Ford V-6.  If either car has ABS (I
think it's standard on the Cavalier, despite it being an economy car),
be sure it's in perfect shape or you could be facing a $1,000 repair.
With ABS flush the brake fluid every year to lessen the chances of
this.   Also verify that the indicator lights for ABS, airbag, and
Check Engine come on briefly and then turn off when you start the
engine because if they don't it indicates a possibly expensive problem
or that an indicator lamp has been removed to hide a problem, like no
airbag.

What are you looking for?
If you need to carry more than 2 people buy a Cavalier.
If you're looking for low ET's, buy a Camaro.

My take on 6 cylinder powered F-bodys (Camaro/Firebird):
Just say no.
Unless it's an 89 Turbo TA.
Why?
F-bodys don't have a lot of practicality - they're cramped, noisy, don't
get great fuel economy (especially when driven like they should) and
have a live rear axle (which is not all bad if that's what you're
looking for.)  Oh, and the doors are about 100 feet long.  And they are
also blessed (or cursed) with rear wheel drive.

The 93-97 Camaro/Bird V8 is called an LT1.  There's a couple of known
issues with it - intake leaks from the rear, the "distributor" is called
Opti-Spark and has the nickname Opti-Puke.  Changing spark plugs is a
major PITA.

So, why buy one?  Because with a V8 and a 6 speed manual transmission,
you can do block long burnouts.  You can corner hard enough to make your
passenger puke (roll the windows down first.)  Basically it's 90% of a
Vette speed for 50% of the money.  If this sounds like a good idea to
you, then buy an F with a V8.  If this sounds dumb, then don't bother
looking.  It's also an issue when shopping - F-body owners are probably
among the best/worst for modifying and abusing their cars.  Our motto is
pretty much "drive it like you stole it" and "there's no such thing as
too much horsepower."  So watch out for "stock" ones that used to be
modified and abused and all the stuff stripped off to sell.

A Cavalier.... uh.... makes a good car for people who don't like cars or
something.

As you can guess, I own an F-Body.  Three of them actually.  And no
Cavaliers.  And none of them have a V6.

ps... US EPA rating of 19 city, 31 highway is totally doable for an LS1
powered Trans Am.  I've gotten 34 highway.  And it gets about 8mpg at
the drag strip.

V6 powered F-Bodys make about as much sense as a four wheel drive
Porsche.  Oh wait, they make one of those. ;)

And, the 3.1/3.4 you'll find in a Cavalier makes a lot of noise and not
a lot of power.  They'll run forever (wife's Beretta is at 225km, Jimmy
made it to 280km before rusting out and my buddy's Celebrity finally
started knocking after 300k.)  I don't know what it is with that engine,
but it has to have the worst exhaust sound ever.  Especially in a Camaro
- it sounds like it's running on 5 cylinders.

Ray
01 Trans Am Ram Air.  With Nitrous. :)
76 Camaro Dirt Track StockCar
80 Trans Am Jenga Puzzle project car.
www.rollingviolation.com

If you want practical, good highway mileage (~27mpg), decent safety, and
comfort, look into one of the 91-97 "Shamu" Caprices.  IMHO, GM's dropping
them to free up more line space to build SUVs was one of their worst
decisions.  Let's hope that we'll be getting a few Zeta platform cars in
the US in the near future (or co-developped Aussie models).

-Andrew