Massive shoulder pads are making a comeback, so why not the station wagon as well?

According to The Auto Channel, the quintissential family vehicle of the 1970s is being reintroduced by Ford, GM and Toyota, featuring sleek new designs that are a cross between a sedan and an SUV. In other words, gone are the days of wood paneling. The new models are also said to offer better fuel economy than their older cousins.

Check out the full story, courtesy of The Auto Channel below!

» The Auto Channel

It looks like the Autobots are going green in the next installation of the Transformers movie franchise.

General Motors' vehicles were featured prominently in the first film, released in 2007, and it was revealed at this week's Chicago Auto Show that five more vehicles from the GM line-up will appear in the upcoming Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. If that wasn't news enough, how about this: one of the star vehicles will be the company's rechargeable electric car, the Chevrolet Volt.

This is great news for the green car industry, especially when you consider that after a Camaro played a central role in the original film, awareness of the vehicle nearly doubled.

The Volt is capable of traveling as far as 40 miles on a single electric charge, but will also have a small gas engine to be used as back-up.

Check out the teaser for the new Transformers movie below.

» Forbes.com

When the head honchos of Detroit's Big Three auto manufacturers arrived for their meeting with Congress in three separate private jets just a few weeks ago, it wasn't just the jaws of environmentalists that hit the floor. Everyone and their dog seemed gobsmacked that the CEOs of Ford, GM and Chrysler would show up to request a $25 billion bailout from the government in jets that cost approximately $20,000 round-trip.

Even though the companies are likely just trying to back-peddle - or more accurately, shift to reverse - they're thinking greener and more cost-efficient for their next journey. The backlash was so strong that GM has now said they will be getting rid of the company's seven private jets and CEO Rick Wagoner will travel back to Washington for another bailout meeting this week in a Chevrolet Malibu hybrid car. Likewise, the bosses from Ford and Chrysler will be traveling to the meeting in hybrids.

A GM representative also claims the company will utilize video-conference and Internet-based technology rather than flying.

This thinly-veiled PR stunt attempt at financial responsibility is also good news for the earth. It's too bad it took a media firestorm and public flogging to inspire common sense.

» The New York Times

Though the fate of the $25 billion bailout Detroit's Big Three automakers have requested is surely the source of watercooler conversations throughout their various offices and facilities, there actually are other topics to talk about with respect to Ford, GM and Chrysler (if you can believe it). The manufacturers are set to roll-out - or at the very least, introduce - the latest and greatest of the green car offerings in the next couple of years. Who knows exactly what the will look like once the deicions regarding the money is reached, but in the meantime, here are a few of the vehicles you can expect to hear more about in 2009 and 2010 if all goes according to plan.

Ford
Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Mercury Milan Hybrid - Due in 2010, the Fusion and Milan Hybrids will be able to travel as fast as 47 miles per hour and as far as eight miles on electric power alone, according to Ford. They will also best the Camry Hybrid in terms of fuel efficiency by five miles per gallon, offering approximately 38 miles per gallon.  Both vehicles will use 2.4-litre, 155-horsepower engines and will use smaller, more powerful battery packs than the other Ford hybrid models, the Ford Escape and the Mercury Mariner.

GM
Chevrolet Volt - One of the most buzzed-about vehicles scheduled for distribution in 2010, this plug-in electric car is expected to have the abiity to travel 40 miles without using a drop of gas. A lithium battery and gas-powered engine will use a generator to provide electrical power should you need to drive a greater distance than 40 miles at a given time.

Chrysler
Dodge Durango Hemi Hybrid - While the 20/22 mpg rating certainly doesn't compare to the fuel-efficiency of a car like the new Ford Fusion at 38 miles per gallon, it's still an improvement over the 13/19 average rating of the gasoline-powered Durangos. The more fuel-friendly model will feature a 5.7-litre, eight-cylinder Hemi engine with the manufacturer's Multiple-Displacement System, which deactivates cylinders that are not being used by the vehicle at a given time.

» HybridCars.com

Earlier this week we told you about a rumored partnership between the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and General Motors. Today EPRI confirmed the research and development venture that they, GM and 34 other top utility providers will work on in an effort to make plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) more mainstream and accessible to consumers than they currently are.

These type of vehicles are seen as the most likely solution to reducing society's dependency on traditional gasoline, as they not only substanially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but cost less to fuel as well. The project will also seek to find solutions for safe and convenient vehicle charging, educating the public and creating public policies  that will help aid the transition to alternative-fuel vehicles. Both major players in the collaboration commented on the importance of the sectors working together to achieve this.

“The EPRI-GM-utility effort is the result of many years of work by EPRI and its members to advance plug-in hybrids and related infrastructure technology to a point of feasible implementation and eventual commercialization,” said Arshad Mansoor, EPRI’s vice president of Power Delivery and Utilization. “Seamless integration of PHEVs into the electric grid will require close collaboration between the automobile and electric sectors.”

“Electrically powered vehicles are going to provide tremendous benefit and excitement for the customer, while also hastening the move to a more diverse choice of energy alternatives,” said Jon Lauckner, GM vice president of Global Programs. “But we know that there are some key elements that need to be understood and put in place so customers can enjoy those benefits and get maximum use of these vehicles when we bring them to market. That’s why this relationship with EPRI and the utility partners is so important.”

» The Auto Channel

Maybe Toyota should take a page from the General Motors' guide to solar energy and install panels somewhere they'll be useful. Right on the heels of Toyota's announcement that some versions of the third-generation Prius will feature solar panels, GM has officially introduced the world's largest rooftop solar photovoltaic power installation to their car assembly plant in Figueruelas, Zaragoza, Spain.

Slated for completion later this fall, the rooftop will feature a whopping 85,000 panels covering approximately two million square feet of the facility's roof. An estimated 15.1 million kWh of power each year. That's enough power to provide 4,575 homes in Spain with power on an annual basis. GM will work on the Zaragoza initiative with Clairvoyant Energy and Veolia Environment who will build, own and operate the installation.

This isn't GM's first foray into solar energy; the company already has two of the largest solar power installations in the U.S.on the roofs of their Rancho Cucamonga and on a plant in Fontana, California.

"The Zaragoza project demonstrates proof that GM is actively accelerating our efforts to be part of the solution to the environmental issues and challenges facing our world," said Gary Cowger, GM group vice president of Global Manufacturing and Labor Relations. "We are proud to be a global leader in the usage of renewable energy."

» The Auto Channel