Ford plans to announce today that the instrument panels in its 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan gasoline-electric hybrid-power midsize sedans will include electronic display screens on which images of green leaves multiply when the cars are being driven in fuel-efficient fashion, Chris Woodyard reports. The goal is "to create an emotional connection and 'wow' factor," says Sonya Nematollahi, Ford's engineering supervisor for driver information. Most hybrids have visual feedback to help drivers get the best mileage, but Ford's icons go beyond the usual lines showing energy flowing to or from the engine or the battery pack. …

McDonald's is moving toward replacing its hallmark dollar-menu product -- the double cheeseburger -- with a new burger called the McDouble, writes Mike Hughlett. The new burger will have one slice of cheese instead of two. But the double cheeseburger (with two slices of cheese) isn't going away. It's just going to cost more than a buck -- probably $1.19. Offhand, that looks like a reduction of more than 100 calories per unit to me , which fits in with another New York Times story this morning about calorie counting being back in fashion. …

Dan Health, who wrote the book Made to Stick with his brother, Chip, says this interactive ad makes him want to buy season tickets for the Gonzaga women's basketball team "even though I'm about 2,600 miles from Spokane." Skip the inevitable Obama/McCain/Palin viral video in your in box this morning and check it out. Go, Bulldogs!

The new displays will replace signs for New York magazine atop the 42-story tower. The British luxury brand is renting four floors in the building; the magazine moved south to Hudson Street more than a year ago.

If I were half clever, a tad nerdy, unable to sit still for long periods and 20ish or 30ish, I'd be doing exactly what Joel Moss Levinson and Matt of "Where-The-Hell-Is-Matt" fame are doing: Exploiting the seemingly insatiable maw of marketers' consumer-generated-content beast for fun and profit. A Times Section A front-pager today tells the tale of Joel, an itinerant jobholder and college dropout -- he majored in medieval weaponry for a few semesters at George Washington University -- who is making a tidy living by winning contests such as one sponsored by Klondike bars for which he …

Stuart Elliott cashes in on the user-generated craze himself this morning with an Advertising column dedicated to e-mail submissions from readers reacting to a recent column in which he reviewed past depictions of advertising in popular culture. Among the televisions show and big-screen movies submitted by readers today are "Bosum Buddies," "Crazy People," "Melrose Place," "Putney Swope," "The Thrill of It All" and "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" Fun stuff. And who knows, maybe it will generate yet more cards and letters for a column down the road?

It's rare that I find a "Heard on the Street" that qualifies as a bona fide brand-marketing story, even though the items seem to have multiplied in the online Journal like a rumor at a convention of conspiracy theorists. Where once there was one item heard on the Wall Street beat a day, there now seem to be at least a half dozen from all sectors of the economy -- a testament, I suppose, to Murdochian ears-to-the-ground journalism around the globe. And to the expansiveness of the Internet over print. In any event, today is one of those days …