If he can get his hands on a V8 VS Calais, you dont worry bout the price of fuel. At worst convert it to gas.
Personal Opinion, but dont bother with the VN. There a simple car, ugly as **** but they do go pretty hard. The VP commodores are decent, better than the VNs. Havnt driven one much (done a few ks in a VP S2 Berlina), its a very nice car and looks ok. VR VS are very similar (obviously not the engine) in their interior and features. I like the VR/VS look and feel. Depending what suspension package etc you get they sit on the road nicely. A real pleasure to drive.
Could always go a VT. My mate got a VT SS for $14k last year from a dealer. Booran i think. Maybe a bit out of the price range but if you can get a VT i would go for that. Ive read a few posts about the VT Super6 being slow. Dont know how they were driving it, maybe forgot to take the handbrake off :whistling .
Really comes down to personal preferance. I like a commodore thats been taken care of, some nice rims exhaust etc. Nothing toooo over the top though.
