WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

SOLAR ROLLER

Profile America — Wednesday, August 31st. The 1950s may be recalled for many now-quaint things, but it was also a decade with antecedents for our current technological pursuits. On this date in 1955, William G. Cobb of the General Motors Corporation demonstrated the world's first solar-powered car. This vehicle didn't take the world by storm because it was a model a mere 15 inches long. The first solar powered car that could actually be driven was unveiled in 1962; a 1912 Baker electric car was fitted with nearly 11,000 individual solar cells on the roof to power the vehicle. Now, more than 50 years on, a fully practical solar-powered car remains a goal, but manufacturing automobiles, mostly powered by internal combustion, is a $111 billion a year business in the U.S. Profile America is in its 20th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 5457
1962 version/accessed 5/25/2016: http://www.automostory.com/first-solar-car.htm 
Automobile manufacturing/NAICS 336111: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ASM/2014/31VS101//prodsvc~336111

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics and accounts drawn from cited non-Census sources are employed for illustrative or narrative purposes, and are not attested to by the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Audio" in the "Library" pull-down menu). 

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau