Warning: I will be posting this in the V6 forums too, so don't heckle me about it.

I will be starting college this fall and right now I'm driving around in a 95 Dodge Caravan, which is about to crap out on me. The car I've always dreamed of buying is of course a Camaro. I truly want to get an SS, but don't have the money for that, so I've decided to settle for a Z or a V6. My dillema is that I honestly want a V8, but would this be economical for a commute everyday to classes (32 miles round trip), and then local driving to my job, etc.? I'm just wondering if the V6 is THAT much better on gas? I know the 8's need a little lovin' in the form of higher octane, which is 3.5x a gallon here, but I was hoping that it would even out somehow. I figured somebody could help me out with some advice on what to do. Also, if anyone knows of any "underground" Camaro dealers out near the Long Island area and want to help a buddy out, that'd be great.

Also, is it possible to get a V6 to sound remotely close to a V8?

 

This may help you out in making a decision.
For 4th gen Camaros EPA ratings:

v6 (3.4 or 3.8) 19 MPG city, 28-30 MPG highway
V8 (5.7 LT1-LS1) 16-17 MPG city, 25-28 MPG highway

For the horrible traffic in the NYC-Long Island area, figure the actual mileage to be around 10-15% worse than advertised. For economy and decent performance, get one with a 3.8 V6 (200 HP), rather than a 3.4 V6 (160HP).

 

You have a dodge caravan that HAS NOT craped out YET![:-]

 

Had to deal with that silly Chrysler 3.3/3.8 OHV engine in my wife's 94 Eagle Vision. Cam bearing spun at 75K and cut off oil supply to one head making horrendous noises. I was too lazy to rip the engine apart so I got new rocker arms and rocker shaft, modified the rocker arms by punching a small hole where the push rod sat, and wound up with Chevy type head lubrication. The car eventually spun a rod bearing at 110K, and got sent to the local junk yard. LOL