General Motors Series

The General Motors Series ran from 1927 to 1933 and released cars under four different GM marques - Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile.  The body was a separate casting from the chassis, and always in different colors.

Near the end of production, the same cars were released with blank grilles. This is likely because cars looked much different by 1932 and GM didn't wanted to be associated with the older styles. The generic ones are harder to find but fewer people care about them so I'm not sure that they are worth more.

Subject ID: 138704

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The General Motors Series ran from 1927 to 1933 and released cars under four different GM marques - Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile.  The body was a separate casting from the chassis, and always in different colors.

Near the end of production, the same cars were released with blank grilles. This is likely because cars looked much different by 1932 and GM didn't wanted to be associated with the older styles. The generic ones are harder to find but fewer people care about them so I'm not sure that they are worth more.

The six bodies offered were loose interpretations of then current GM cars and identical regardless of marque.  Five colors were offered: blue, green, olive, red, and yellow.

• brougham (limousine)
• coupe
• sedan
• phaeton (four place convertible)
• roadster
• van 

The chassis was essentially identical between the different marques, changing only the writing on the grille.  None of the grilles had much resemblance to the real car. Chassis colors replaced green with black.

Buicks are very common and Oldsmobiles have been the hardest for me to locate. Coupes and roadsters appear to be the most common bodies while phaetons are difficult to find. Olive is the most common color, likely because it's so repulsive that nobody wants to keep it.  You may see only one or two green bodies in a year, and they are likely to be vans or sedans.

Diecast cars were a new art in the Twenties and these castings may have several blemishes.  Colors may have shifted and become dull.  I have never seen one of these cars fall victim to the zinc pest that struck later Tootsietoys.

These models have thick castings that are fairly sturdy but the axle posts are prone to breakage, especially in the rear.  They can be repaired but all value will be lost. In any online purchase, always demand a clear, well-lit picture of the underside of the casting so you can check this. Additionally, the phaeton is vulnerable to damage because of all the open areas.  It's not unusual for the spare tire to be broken off the rear of the coupe.

These cars came with disc wheels, gold at first, later changing to black.  Axles were 1/32" and are almost always bent, giving the car a bow-legged appearance. Replacement axles and wheels are readily available from online auctions or from Thomas Toys. Some collectors prefer the bent axles with pristine factory axle crimps.

Roadster windshields are also vulnerable and reproductions are available. They are press fitted into a slot and can usually be extracted without much difficulty. Pushing one in can easily lead a person to break that new part, don't rush. I believe that originals were always painted gloss black.

At that period in time, Oakland was the principal 5th marque in the GM lineup and Pontiac had debuted the year before as a secondary line to Oakland. Pontiac quickly overshadowed its big brother and Oakland was discontinued in 1931.  With that in mind, GM may have been hesitant to lend its name to an Oakland variant of this Tootsietoy series.

Subject ID: 138704

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