Saab cuts warranty program

General Motors Corp.'s Saab division is reducing the maximum warranty period by half to 50,000 miles for engines, transmissions and related parts on vehicles sold in the United States to reduce costs.

The so-called powertrain coverage starting with 2009 Saabs will become part of the bumper-to-bumper warranty of 50,000 miles or 4 years, the division's U.S. general manager, Steve Shannon, said in a July 25 letter to dealers. The powertrain warranty had been 100,000 miles.

Saab's U.S. sales fell 29% this year through June, the second worst performance among GM's divisions after Hummer, which GM is considering selling.