Viking was an automobile manufactured by General Motors' Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory...

 division for model years 1929 to 1931.

Viking was part of Alfred Sloan's companion make program

General Motors Companion Make Program

General Motors pioneered the idea that consumers would aspire to buy up an automotive product ladder if a company met certain price points. As General Motors entered the 1920s, the product ladder started with the price leading Chevrolet marque, and then progressed upward in price, power and...

 introduced to help span gaps in General Motors’ pricing structure, and was marketed through GM's Oldsmobile division. Viking was one of four makes introduced by General Motors, the other lines (and their GM divisions) being Pontiac

Pontiac

Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...

 (Oakland

Oakland automobile

The Oakland was a brand of automobile manufactured between 1907–1909 by the Oakland Motor Car Company of Pontiac, Michigan, and between 1909 and 1931 by the Oakland Motors Division of General Motors Corporation. Oakland's principal founder was Edward M...

), Marquette (Buick

Buick

Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...

) and LaSalle (Cadillac). Of the four makes, Viking was the only one priced higher than its "parent" make.

Riding a 125 in (3,175 mm) wheelbase, Vikings were powered by a monoblock V8 engine

V8 engine

A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....

, the first automobile using this type of engine construction. Vikings were available as 4-door sedan, deluxe 4-door sedan, convertible

Convertible

A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...

 coupé

Coupé

A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...

with rear deck seat, deluxe convertible coupé with rear deck seat, close-coupled 4-door sedan and deluxe close-coupled 4-door sedan.

Viking production for 1929 was 4,058 units and 1930 2,813. 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.