The banner above is an advertisment - if it asks you to download software, please ignore.
Site News - 4/9 Saab Owners' Convention Day Pass Raffle | 3/26 M Car Covers (by State of Nine)

The Saab Network Mailing List FAQ
Search:

Main Index
[ Prev by Date ] [ Next by Date ] Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
Ralph T. Millet
Posted by The Saab Network (more from The Saab Network) on Tue, 24 Dec 2002 02:44:11
In Reply to: , Kok Chen, Sat, 17 Dec 1988 12:00:00 

Founder of Saab Car Business in the U.S. Market,
Ralph T. Millet, Dies at Age 85

Photo: http://www.saabnet.com/tsn/press/021224.html


Middletown, CT - Ralph T. Millet, 85, of Old Saybrook, CT, the man who
brought Swedish Saab cars into the United States and was president of the
Saab importing company, died Friday, Dec. 20, 2002, at Middlesex Hospital in
Middletown, CT.

Aside from all of his accomplishments with Saab, Mr. Millet was also a highly
respected spokesman for the imported car business in the United States as
President and Chairman of the Automobile Importers of America, a group
representing most of the companies importing automobiles to the United
States.

When Saab automobiles were first introduced into this country in 1956, it was
quite a different automobile from those generally sold here. The car's origin
and the management of its importing company were also somewhat different than
what is common in the US auto business.

The first Saab cars were powered by an unorthodox two-cycle engine that
required the addition of oil to the gasoline every time the fuel tank was
filled. Unlike most other cars, the engine propelled the front wheels,
instead of the rear wheels. Saab automobiles were manufactured by a company
called Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (abbreviated Saab), that had previously
been solely engaged in the manufacture of military aircraft.

Heading the U.S. operation was not exactly your usual 'car guy' but an
aircraft expert. Ralph Turner Millet had had no previous experience in the
automotive field, but would eventually become the representative for almost
all of this country's automobile importers, and steer his adopted company and
its unorthodox product through more than 15 years of business ups and downs.

Ralph T. Millet saw the little Saab car become something of a cult car, as
well as one of the leaders in the field of automotive safety, before he
relinquished his position as head of the importing company. Mr. Millet then
became a consultant to the company, and its spokesman in safety and
environmental matters.

As Mr. Millet recalled it, the actual origin of Saab's entry into the US auto
market came at a dinner in Minneapolis. After a meeting with aircraft
component suppliers, the head of Saab turned to Mr. Millet, at the time a
purchasing agent for Saab, and said that since Americans were buying
Volkswagens, maybe they would also buy Saabs. Mr. Millet said that he
seriously doubted the viability of selling a car with a two-cycle engine in
the U.S., but the next day, back in New York, the Saab president persisted.

'He told me to reserve some space at the next New York Auto Show. He would
send some cars over, and we would see what reaction they got. Then we would
decide about selling the cars.'

A few months later four Saab 93 sedans and a prototype sports car arrived in
New York, just in time for the 1956 New York International Auto Show. At the
show itself, the reaction of both public and press was quite positive, and
several auto dealers expressed their interest in representing the new Swedish
make. One even bought a car for resale. Ralph T. Millet was about to change
careers, from a specialist in procurement for the aircraft industry, to the
job as head of the country's newest imported car company.

That dinner meeting in Minneapolis was not really Ralph T. Millet's first
encounter with Saab cars. Born in Boston on August 21,1917, Mr. Millet was
educated at the Boston Latin School and received a degree in aeronautical
engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1940, just in
time to join the U.S. Army Air Corps, where he reached the rank of lieutenant
colonel. After the war he started a firm handling procurements for different
corporations, one of them Saab. During his first visit to Sweden, in 1946, he
heard of the company's plans for a small car, and one of his earlier
assignments for Saab involved the purchase of body presses for the new car.
In 1948, he recalled, an early prototype car was sent to the U.S., and Mr.
Millet had some discussions with the Willys Overland Company about building
the car. One early problem for Saab, however, was the shortage of suitable
steel for the car bodies. It wasn't until 1950 that the first Saab car built
was sold, and not much was thought of exporting it until production reached
adequate levels.

But after the 1956 New York Auto Show, Saab Motors Inc. was ready for
business. The first shipment of cars for sale to dealers arrived just before
Christmas 1956 at the port of Hingham, MA, where Saab had established a
warehouse and vehicle preparation facility. Fifteen dealers were signed the
first year, and sales reached all of 2,200 units in 1958. 'We made money in
1959,' recalled Mr. Millet, 'but the next year the bottom fell out, when
Detroit's Big 3 introduced their own small cars.'

In 1961 Saab Motors moved all of its operations to New Haven, CT, leaving
only a small aviation purchasing office - the operations Mr. Millet had
originally started - in New York City.

The safety reputation of the Saab car has helped sell Saabs throughout the
years, as the cars have gradually evolved, first by replacing the original
two-stroke engine with a more acceptable four-stroke, and later with newer
and larger model cars. Today the company, now Saab Cars USA Inc., owned by
General Motors, sells two distinct lines of cars, the 9-5 and the 9-3.

Safety has always been a major feature in Saab's marketing efforts, and is
something that has been the subject of Mr. Millet's interest for many years.
When the government stepped into the field of auto safety in the late 1960's,
Mr. Millet was one of the first representatives of the auto industry to be
appointed to the new Highway Traffic Safety Advisory Council of National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration. At about the same time, the first
trade organization for the imported car industry was founded and Mr. Millet,
after originally just representing Saab, eventually became president and
chairman of the Automobile Importers of America. As spokesman for the
imported auto industry, Mr. Millet was for many years a frequent testifier
before congressional and other legislative bodies on matters relating to
imported cars. He remained the Saab representative with the trade group;
today called the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers, until
quite recently.

In 1982, Mr. Millet was named to the Board of Directors of the successor
company to Saab Motors Inc., Saab-Scania of America, Inc., which by then was
involved not just in Saab automobiles, but also built and marketed Scania
trucks and buses. Mr. Millet was heavily involved in establishing the Scania
business in the US, initially in assessing the market possibilities for
Scania products, and later in helping set up marketing and manufacturing
operations in the U.S. During the 1980's, Scania operated a complete assembly
operation in Orange, CT, making city busses for a number of different U.S.
municipalities.

Always interested in Saab even after his retirement, Mr. Millet has been a
frequent visitor at Saab dealer functions, as well as at Saab owner
conventions, both in this country and overseas. Most recently he and his
wife, Gunlog, attended the dealer preview of the all-new Saab 9-3 cars in
Sweden this past summer, and the annual Saab Owner's Convention in
Cincinnati, OH, in August.

An active churchman, Mr. Millet was a lifelong Episcopalian, and was Senior
Warden Emeritus, as well as treasurer of the Grace Memorial Church in Old
Saybrook, CT.

Ralph T. Millet resided in Old Saybrook. Besides his wife, he leaves four
children, Francis N. Millet of Clinton, CT; Charles G. Millet, of Dedham, MA,
Mrs. Ronald Bearse of Alexandria, VA; and Miss Kristine R. Millet, of Dedham,
MA. He was predeceased by another son, Ralph Millet, Jr.

A Memorial Service will be held Thursday, December 26, 2002, at 11 a.m. at
the Grace Episcopal Church, 338 Main Street., Old Saybrook, CT. Contributions
in the memory of Ralph T. Millet may be given to the Grace Church Memorial
Fund, care of Grace Episcopal Church, 338 Main Street., Old Saybrook, CT
06475.

Obituary written by long-time Saab PR chief and close friend to Ralph T.
Millet - Lennart Lonnegren.
==================
The Saab Network
http://www.saabnet.com/
saabno39sdcx6spamx782saabnet.com

Posts in this Thread:
StateOfNine.com
SaabClub.com
Jak Stoll Performance
M Car Covers
Ad Available

The content on this site may not be republished without permission. Copyright © 1988-2024 - The Saab Network - saabnet.com.
For usage guidelines, see the Mission & Privacy Notice.
[Contact | Site Map | Saabnet.com on Facebook | Saabnet.com on Twitter | Shop Amazon via TSN | Site Donations]

This is a moderated FAQ - Posting is a privilege, not a right. Unsolicited commercial postings are not allowed (no Spam). Please, no For Sale or Wanted postings, SERIOUSLY. Classifieds are to be listed in The Saab Network Classifieds pages. This is a problem solving forum for over 250,000 Saab owners, so expect to see problems discussed here even though our cars are generally very reliable. This is not an anything goes type of forum. TSN has been a moderated forum since 1988. For usage guidelines, see the TSN Mission and Purpose Page. Please remember that you are not anonymous
Your address is: 3.144.84.155 - Using Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com) - Logged.
Site Members do not see red text instructions, green links, and bottom of the page banners.
Click here to see all the Site Membership Benefits!