I suspect the serial number is located on the passenger side floor by the battery compartment on a small ID plate. Using that number, surf through some of these sites and maybe get a little history on it and chase the car back to its origins. From there, you may be able to search DMV records like Ken said.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...-revision&cd=5

It has been my experience that trying to chase it back from now to then is fruitless, whereas chasing it then to now may be a better option. You used to be able to go to DMV here in Arizona with a license tag number and chase the car back though its previous owners. You can't do that any more due to privacy regulations.

What happened was, some nutball got into a confrontation with another motorist on the freeway. The nutball wrote down the license plate number, went to DMV, got the owner's name, went to the library and got their phone number through the Pope Directory and began a long regimen of hasrassing phone calls. The nutball was located finally and the authorities put a stop to it. But it was found out how he did it, so the DMV closed down the release of information to citizens. I swear, human beings will find a way to screw anything and everything. We used to be able to locate the owner of abandoned cars with the license plate number, so we could call them and try to buy them. Won't work anymore.