What were the General Motors Companion Brands?

1929 Viking, GM Companion Brands — 1929 Viking

The companion brands were a function of a General Motors market expansion effort developed in the late Twenties, and strongly supported by then company president Alfred P. Sloan. The project was official known as the Companion Make Program.

General Motors Companion Brands

Sloan aimed to fill perceived price gaps in maker’s “brand ladder,” which at the time included entry-level Chevrolet, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Buick, and top-tier Cadillac. Sloan wanted a “car for every purse and purpose,” with companion brands positioned as more affordable (or in one case, premium) siblings to existing divisions.

It was anticipated that the Companion Make Program would boost volume and allow shared production efficiencies. It’s worth noting that there was no companion brand for Chevrolet. The four companion brands were:

Pontiac (1926)

Companion to Oakland, Pontiac was priced below it as a cheaper six-cylinder option. It was the only major success, quickly outselling Oakland (which was discontinued in 1931) and becoming a standalone GM brand until 2010.

LaSalle (1927)

Companion to Cadillac, LaSalle was positioned as a sportier, lower-priced luxury car (often credited as designer Harley Earl’s first major styling effort at GM). It lasted the longest of the companions, until 1940. LaSalle is credited with helping Cadillac weather the depression.

Viking (1929)

Companion to Oldsmobile, Viking was priced above V8-equipped Oldsmobile models. Viking was short-lived due to low sales.

Marquette (1930)

Companion to Buick, Marquette was priced below it with a straight-six engine. The Marquette brand lasted just one year.

The program is widely viewed as a failure overall. The onset of the Great Depression crushed demand for additional mid-tier brands, and many of the companions cannibalized sales from their parent divisions rather than expanding the market. Viking and Marquette were gone by 1931, LaSalle by 1940, leaving Pontiac as the sole companion-brand survivor.

After this, GM stabilized with the classic postwar hierarchy: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac. Today, GM’s core U.S. brands are Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac. The Hummer brand, once independent, is now a sub-brand of GMC.