Today, General Motors is touting the one million miles that testers have driven its Chevy Equinox hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle.

That once again puts all eyes on Honeoye Falls, where so much of the research work on these vehicles is taking place. There's not any specific significance to the one-million-mile mark, other than tossing off a nifty figure. Rather, GM officials are looking at it from a big-picture perspective. It shows that the technology is real and that it's not just a bunch of lab work, says Dan O'Connell, director of commercialization at GM's Honeoye Falls facility.

The project's served two purposes, O'Connell says: gauging public acceptance of the vehicles and gathering technical data and feedback. For example, some drivers had complaints about the feel of the brakes, so GM re-engineered that part of the vehicle.

But perhaps more important than this milestone is where GM goes next. Cost and durability are two of the three major issues researchers are still addressing. O'Connell says that the company's about a month away from announcing how and when it will move to the next generation. That technology is lighter, cheaper, and offers about a 15-percent improvement in efficiency, he says.

But it's about more than simply advancing the technology. There's an economic incentive for GM to show some serious promise: The company needs to sell government leaders and the public on the feasibility and benefits of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Especially since most realistic visions of hydrogen fuel-cell rollout include some measure of government involvement to build a network of hydrogen fueling stations.

White House Energy Secretary Steven Chu slashed funding for vehicular hydrogen fuel cell R&D in his department's budget because there are technologies that hold more near-term potential. But Congress members and senators have restored some of the funding.