Go with Berkeley, its the better school. Not sure who has the better ME program, but either way Id go with Berkeley. Although if you like the social life and party scene, UCLA would probably be better for that, not that Berekeley desnt have that, but UCLA is known for big social scene, with their basketball games, football, etc, while CAL is more focused on academia.
To be completely honest, it won’t matter to anyone other than yourself where you went to school for your undergrad education, especially when you are talking about the difference between 2 prestigious schools like these. One thing to keep in mind is that when you study engineering, you are learning the basics about engineering. You will not learn anything at Berkeley that you won’t learn at UCLA or UCI or even Cal State Fullerton.
My opinion, for what its worth would be to pick UCLA because as you said you like its campus and lifestyle. UCLA is not quite as hellish as Berkeley. You would probably enjoy your life more and your career prospects would be no different.
If I made the decision, it would be Berkeley. The air is much cleaner in the Bay Area than in LA. I’ve lived on both areas, and I vastly prefer the Bay Area. At Berkeley you can get to San Francisco with a subway ride. Go Cal!
Go to UCLA. In high school academics seems more important when choosing a college. When you get to college, you realize the environment is the most important thing. You like cars, and LA is the car-driven society. You can also attend the LA car show. Visit both schools and go with campus you can see yourself living in for the next few years. Cant go wrong with your choices.
Go for the campus and lifestyle people don’t really care where your degree is from as long as you have one.