Your state department of motor vehicles can do a search of a vehicle's history if you pay them and give them the VIN. Here's an example for my state:
http://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/ovs/records.htm
I don't think they'll give you personal information about the owner, though. There's a federal privacy law that prevents that, unless it's for something important like a recall or for law enforcement. Here's the law: http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/18C123.txt