A automobile for each buyer.
The companion manufacturers have been a perform of a Common Motors market growth effort developed within the late Twenties, and strongly supported by then firm president Alfred P. Sloan. The mission was official generally known as the Companion Make Program.
Common Motors Companion Manufacturers
Sloan aimed to fill perceived value gaps in maker’s “model ladder,” which on the time included entry-level Chevrolet, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Buick, and top-tier Cadillac. Sloan needed a “automobile for each purse and function,” with companion manufacturers positioned as extra reasonably priced (or in a single case, premium) siblings to current divisions.
It was anticipated that the Companion Make Program would increase quantity and permit shared manufacturing efficiencies. It’s value noting that there was no companion model for Chevrolet. The 4 companion manufacturers have been:
Pontiac (1926)
Companion to Oakland, Pontiac was priced under it as a less expensive six-cylinder choice. It was the one main success, rapidly outselling Oakland (which was discontinued in 1931) and turning into a standalone GM model till 2010.
LaSalle (1927)
Companion to Cadillac, LaSalle was positioned as a sportier, lower-priced luxurious automobile (usually credited as designer Harley Earl’s first main styling effort at GM). It lasted the longest of the companions, till 1940. LaSalle is credited with serving to Cadillac climate the melancholy.
Viking (1929)
Companion to Oldsmobile, Viking was priced above V8-equipped Oldsmobile fashions. Viking was short-lived attributable to low gross sales.
Marquette (1930)
Companion to Buick, Marquette was priced under it with a straight-six engine. The Marquette model lasted only one yr.
This system is broadly considered as a failure general. The onset of the Nice Despair crushed demand for extra mid-tier manufacturers, and most of the companions cannibalized gross sales from their mum or dad divisions somewhat than increasing the market. Viking and Marquette have been passed by 1931, LaSalle by 1940, leaving Pontiac as the only companion-brand survivor.
After this, GM stabilized with the basic postwar hierarchy: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac. At this time, GM’s core U.S. manufacturers are Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac. The Hummer model, as soon as unbiased, is now a sub-brand of GMC.
Hearken to the Automobile Stuff Podcast
Companion Model Footage
Despair-Period Automobile Advertisements: Market Crash Insanity!