Viking was a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

automobiles A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

manufactured by

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

as a supplement to

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produc ...

division for model years 1929 to 1931 and used the GM B platform. It was shared with the Oakland Model 301 for 1930 and 1931.

Overview

Viking was part of Alfred Sloan's companion make program introduced to help span gaps in General Motors’ pricing structure, and was manufactured by GM's

division. Viking was one of four makes introduced by General Motors, the other lines (and their GM divisions) being Pontiac ( Oakland), Marquette (

Buick Buick () is a division (business), division of the Automotive industry in the United States, American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobil ...

) and LaSalle (

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

). Of the four makes, Viking was the only one priced higher than its "parent" make, and took the role of senior luxury sedan for Oldsmobile until replaced by the Oldsmobile L-Series. It took over the senior luxury position from the Oldsmobile Light Eight. Riding on a wheelbase with steel semi-elliptic springs and a turning circle, Vikings were powered by a 90° bank angle flathead monobloc V8 engine that produced , the first automobile using this type of engine construction, and was shared with the Oakland V8. The monobloc architecture was later adapted for use in

and LaSalle. Vikings were available as a

convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a Car, passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary across eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air drivin ...

coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...

with rear deck seat, a 4-door sedan, and a close-coupled 4-door sedan in both standard and deluxe trim packages. The front seat and the steering wheel were adjustable. Viking production for 1929 was 4,058 units and 1930 2,813, and retail prices were listed at US$1,595 ($ in dollars ) for any of the three body styles. GM discontinued the Viking and the Marquette at the end of the 1930 model year, preferring to bet on Oldsmobile and Buick, which had better consumer awareness. However, an additional 353 units were assembled using existing parts and marketed as 1931 models. Oldsmobile would not use a V8 engine until the Oldsmobile Rocket V8 in 1949.

References

External links

Contemporary photo of 1930 Convertible Coupe
{{Oldsmobile Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States General Motors marques Oldsmobile vehicles Defunct brands Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan