1 piece "pressed steel" type tootsies are/were "pre war" (pre WWII) up until mid century (1950s/60s)
after that - "plastic" was added to both the exterior (rims, underbody, etc) and interior (seats, steering wheels, etc) of most all tootsie toy cars and also they were no longer "pressed" into 1 piece units (as this one is) - they did a changeover to match/compete with Matchbox and Hotwheels as we (kids of the time) no longer wanted the "pressed steel" 1 piece units of the "past" anymore and the only way Tootsie was to survive was to make cars/trucks like Matchbox & Hotwheels was doing at that time --- I remember when Hotwheels released their 1st round of cars - - I was 5/6 yrs old in 1967/68 and they were THE xxxx!! NO one wanted these old style cartoony looking pressed steel cars anymore once they (Hotwheels) came on the scene (and we're talkin "Redlines" in those days = the REAL deals)!!
I still have over a dozen of my Redlines from when I was a kid (some in near mint cond. too)! ;-)