WHOOPIE CAR

Whoopee Car 1930

The description below was taken from Greenburg’s Guide to Marx Toys Vol. 2

Whoopee Car: 1930. 8” long X 5 ½” high. This car, which is shown on the front cover, is often thought to be one of the most attractive of the eccentric cars. Priced at 49 cents the toy is described in the 1930 Sears catalog, as “No telling which direction the car will go”. For some reason, the driver is described as “grotesque”. His girlfriends are “holding on for dear life”, but they actually appear to be sitting calmly. This toy has the same car body and driver type as the Joy Rider but different lithography. The driver’s turning head is lithographed in detail. He wears the popular 1920’s raccoon coat, a natty white shirt with orange stripes, an orange bow tie, and the same red and green hat as the joy rider. The driver, who is balding, appears to be older than the college-age student, although there are college pennants lithographed onto the suitcase, the large black wheels and the trunk. One possible explanation for this incongruity is that the company had the figures on hand and decided to use them. Although somewhat hard to see, the Marx name is on the back of the seat. 

A major structural difference between the Joy Rider and the Whoopee Car is the addition of the two identical female figures to the trunk. These flat, two-dimensional figures are dressed in red, wearing hats, long scarves, and short skirts. 

Marx was not the only manufacturer to place a figure on to the trunk of a vehicle, to use large and small wheels and to make use of an “eccentric” action. Although not identical, a 1924 imported toy called “Dizzy Dan” uses all these features and may well have been an inspiration for these eccentric cars. 

The box for the Whoopee Car accurately depicts the two female figures on the trunk. However the box panel illustrations incorrectly show the front and back wheels as the same size.