09/01/2026
It will be interesting to see what the next 100 years brings to car design…. Will they be solar power? Battery? Will cars go away in the wake of a new form of transportation?
Today in American history, General Motors stepped into the future with something tiny but trailblazing: the Sunmobile. In 1955, GM engineer William G. Cobb unveiled what’s widely considered the world’s first solar-powered automobile—a 15-inch model car gliding under a spotlight at the Powerama show in Chicago. On the 71st anniversary of that debut, it’s worth remembering what made it remarkable: it introduced millions to photovoltaics, the idea that sunlight could be converted directly into electricity.
Powerama itself was a spectacle of mid-century confidence—diesels, turbines, and a vision of America electrified. Yet this pocket-sized car stole the show. Cobb’s Sunmobile used selenium photovoltaic cells to power a tiny motor, a proof-of-concept at a time when most people associated solar energy with science fiction. While decades away from road-ready solar cars, the demonstration seeded public imagination and helped normalize the notion of alternative energy within American industry—a small spark that hinted at a much bigger energy transition to come.
