Word on the street is that GM CEO Dan Akerson told Opel recently they will not be sold as had been previously thought. Daimler is, however, considering outsourcing its Maybach cars to Aston Martin due to the line’s low sales. The Department of Energy has cut funding for the once-popular hydrogen fuel-cell program, saying it’s too expensive to support along with other alternative-energy programs. All that and more, plus Seamus McElroy evaluates the Prius v.