Solaemon-Go

Me phoning it in would be to state that all of our vehicles could look like this, so long as it met all of the regulations it needed to. Then close my laptop and walk away.

Rounded bumpers? Check. Low emissions? Check. Two whole cartoon eyes that can follow you around? Check and check.

Solaemon-Go is a real car, because I deem it so. Major automakers don’t think twice about pushing what amounts to a large-scale Tamiya model onto the stage and calling it a “concept car”. At least Solaemon-Go has real mileage under its cape — in the early ’90s, it drove 3,000 km over 10 days, and hit a maximum speed of 70 km/h.

I realize you still have every reason to be skeptical, however, I think the official promotional video (in Japanese) will answer the rest of your questions:

On one hand, it’s a solar parade float. On the other, it’s a Japanese bubble economy parade float that competed in actual solar car competitions, against Very Serious teams with Very Serious ambitions. Solaemon-Go? Had its own Tamiya model kit.

Solaemon-Go? Think of it as the solar Doraemon car. If that still makes no sense, please dive into the world of Doraemon-themed anything.

Here’s what it looks like against more modern vehicles, without promotional music! Did you catch the highlights from its promo reel:

• Driver-selectable facial expressions.
• Collar bell speaker
• Rearview camera tail
• Auxiliary Doraemon tire pump

Now housed at the Motorcar Museum of Japan, Solaemon-Go can live out its days as any groundbreaking solar car should: as a prized companion for any bright, sunny days ahead.

Q: How does a goofy Japanese solar car have a more appealing face than the 2025 Audi A5…Ford Capri…and a few dozen other upcoming new models? When focusing automaker talents on setting new performance benchmarks with EVs, perhaps makers are overthinking the problem of making cars more enjoyable to the humans who want to love them back.

READ NEXT: Toyota Times (official Toyota publication) article mentioning Solaemon-Go, the detailed thread at GTPlanet, and a Reddit post that references things I can’t verify. Much of this information is not known or translated into English, so please chime in the comments or over email to help fill in the blanks. :) 

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