General Motors often created lines of 'Companion Cars' for their prosperous marques. Cadillac had the LaSalle, Buick the Marquette, Oakland the Pontiac, and Oldsmobile had the Viking. The Oldsmobile and Viking pair was different from the other brands though; the Viking was an up-scale version to meet the demands of a booming economy. The Viking automobiles would be offered from 1929 to 1931 and used the GM B platform. Development of the Viking started in 1925, however, production did not begin until 1929. 4,058 vehicles were built in its first year followed by 2,813 examples in 1930. GM discontinued the Viking automobile at the end of the 1930 model year. An additional 353 units were assembled using existing parts and marketed as 1931 models. This era was a difficult time for upscale vehicles, as the stock market crash ruined the economy and destroyed the fortunes of many individuals and businesses.
Alfred Sloan's companion line of automobiles was intended to fill the gaps and pricing structures that existed between the company's marquees. The Vikings were marketed through GM's Oldsmobile division.
The Viking automobiles had a 125-inch wheelbase platform and were powered by a monoblock V8 engine, the first automobile using this type of engine construction. The V8 had an unusual arrangement of horizontal valves with roughly triangular-shaped combustion chambers.
Body styles included a 4-door sedan, deluxe 4-door sedan, convertible coupe with rear deck seat, deluxe convertible coupé with rear deck seat, close-coupled 4-door sedan, and deluxe close-coupled 4-door sedan.
