Self-parking cars aren't really a new idea, but with the design the Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Laboratory is working on, only minimal modifications are required a vehicle's stock options. The main sensor systems consist of a camera mounted on the rear view mirror, a front radar, and " couple little off the shelf LIDAR units mounted on the sides." They'll need to make a few more modification to take care of the system's inability to detect obstacles (be it people or terrain), but other than that tiny detail, this is the best autonomous parking prototype I've seen so far. [BotJunkie]

Part of the gaff was, of course, due to that fact that there are just 60 hydrogen stations in the U.S., and only two of those are open to the public "without prior arrangement," says Reuters. Nevertheless, event promoter Catherine Dunwoody, executive director of the California Fuel Cell Partnership (a major tour supporter), was optimistic about hydrogen's chances.

"There's a hunger out there for clean, safe vehicles," Brubaker said. "The common refrain everywhere we went was 'Where do we get these cars?'" As a personal aside, I, too, would be interested in such a venture, especially if it meant large swaths of my morning commute involved hopping on the back of a truck, and having someone else do the driving for me.

More seriously, hydrogen as a major fuel source is pretty much nowhere near becoming mainstream. As the article notes, bigwig auto makers like Honda and General Motors only have plans to test a handful of hydrogen vehicles this year and next in select markets.

A best-case scenario out of the car industry has only 2 million hydrogen-powered electric vehicles on the roads by 2020.

At least there was some diversity on this cross-country trip: Cars were provided by Honda, GM, Toyota Motor Corp, Ford Motor Co, BMW AG, Daimler AG, Hyundai Motor Co, Nissan Motor Co, and Volkswagen AG. No word on those flatbeds. [Reuters]

If you hop over to their site, you'll see how the display works to combine information from cameras, lasers, ultrasound and radar to warn you of upcoming problems on the road. The HUD is really not so dissimilar from modern day racing games.

Other touted features include intelligent navigation that borders on autopilot, but that's only if you're clever enough to get into a car with no door handles. For the full experience of 20 years in the future, head on over to the VW link (or, for the extremely patient, just wait 20 years). [VW via Yanko]

Either way, it almost makes me consider a VW, and I'm hoping cousins at Audi get the hint soon and do something as slick as this in their non-touchscreen MMI system. The system has a 7-inch touchscreen that is proximity sensitive, too, so it works on gestures in front of the console. Autoblog recalls that all VWs in 2009 model year are getting touchscreens. I like all this speculation, frankly, and would be pretty pleased to see solid Cupertino UIs on the road. [Autoblog Carspace via Engadget]

We're not eagerly waiting for more information, but we'll let you know when we get some. It would be nice if this was a phone instead of just an MP3 player. – Jason Chen

VW Beetle MP3 player: questionable brand partnership, nice looking player [Shiny Shiny]

But what happens when a TV show puts it to the test—with one of their very own inside the car?

Hint: the funny part is when the host dies.

What Happens When Lightning Strikes Your Car [uberreview]

If it didn't take such a supreme effort, this could be a good prank to pull on that guy who thinks his "V-Dub" is so frickin' cool. – Charlie White

Chocolate Covered Car [Spluch]

Volkswagen nailed this one. Click to see the variety of beautifully-designed V-Dub sleds, with seven pics in all.

Hey, sleds are important to those of us out here on the frozen tundra, giving us something to do when we're not bowling or flying our radio-controlled helicopters indoors. – Charlie White

Volkswagen Snow Sleds [Carscoop, via Born Rich]

Volkswagon just opened a $38 million testing facility on Monday that can simulate the worst weather that green-loving bitch Mother Nature can throw at a car. Temperatures can range between -40 to 302 degrees F in conditions simulating direct sun exposure and humidity up to 95 percent saturation. What, no 100%? It doesn't rain? I can simulate that in my $200 shower! German engineering in the house, for real.

Other innovations include "upstream conditioning boxes", or modular storage units that allow VW to test up to 50 cars, twice a day. The place looks like a really nice storage rental facility. I wonder if they'll test my futon next. Hit the jump for more pictures.

– Mark Wilson

VW Opens New Climate Center [autoblog]

A New Old Bus: Volkswagen Updates a 1964 Microbus with Gadgets [Jalop-shop]

This is, however, the first time we've seen confirmation that Google is interested in using its map data in a commercial gadget.

Volkswagen teams with Google on navigation system [Reuters]

Giorgietto Giugiaro has been designing cars since Ferrari's prancing horse was just a colt. But where most people would celebrate their golden anniversary in the business feasting on all-you-can-eat shrimp, Giugiaro instead designed a Ferrari prototype. The Ferrari GG50 concept is a four-seat coupe built using similar mechanicals as the $250,000 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti - powered by a 540hp V12. If reports are correct, the design will likely inform a new model to replace the company's aging 575M.

Volkswagen's EcoRacer concept is two-seat roadster with a body constructed from strong, lightweight carbon fiber and a new diesel engine boosted by both a turbocharger and a supercharger. The supercharger provides thrust at low revs, the turbo kicks in at higher revs, and the whole 1.4-liter pressure cooker gets around 69 mpg, propelling the EcoRacer from zero to 60 mpg in an entirely respectable 6.3 seconds. Remember the old Rabbit diesel from, oh, around 1979? That was a really long time ago.

Consider Hyundai's new Neos III crossover concept an art-house version of the redesigned Santa Fe SUV the company will introduce to the US audience next year. Still, despite their incompatible taste in sheetmetal, the two Korean brothers will share a dirty little secret in common — that is, Hyundai's new 4.6-liter V8 engine the company hopes will help it compete in the horsepower-drunk American SUV market.

It's not much to look at - unless your calendar has pictures of disco-era roller skates on it - but Mercedes-Benz's F600 Hygenius concept is built not to please the style council, but as a showcase of its fuel-cell technologies. Well, maybe designers were thinking a little about style, considering Mercedes bid them to design the entire car around its fuel cell.

Lexus unveiled a concept car, the LF-Sh that offers a peek at the replacement for its top-of-the-line LS model in 2007. The Toyota luxury brand is serious about competing with the big boys in the highline market, like the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7-Series battleships. So serious, in fact, that the company launched the LF-Sh concept with a new hybrid-drive system that rests its laurels on a big ol' V8 gas engine. Forget about saving the planet; that "h" is really for horsepower.

[Jalopnik's The Week in Cars appears every Thursday]

VW iFox [The German Car Blog]