New car often advisable Used vehicles offer less choice, predictability

M ost of the people in the Chippewa Valley share a

"conservative" philoso-phy in how they choose to spend, save and invest their money.

This attitude is evident in the way many drivers are less likely to boast about owning a brand new expen-sive car or truck, and more likely to brag about the high number of miles they've accumulated on their current car's odometer.

Even when that vehicle's life comes to an end, fiscally responsible driv-ers tend to buy another used one to take its place.

But for our latest install-ment of "Money Mis-takes that Smart People Make," we present the rea-sons that buying a brand new car instead of a used one actually may be the more financially sensible choice. 1. Less competition

In light of the ongo-ing economic slump, it's no surprise that people in tight financial straits are

going to be more inter-ested and able to afford, say, a $12,000 used car rather than a new one for at least twice that much.

This occurrence has led to a shift in demand from new to used cars and

means the gap in price between the two categories has narrowed from what it might have been during better times.

Of course, the final price tag for the new car will still be higher than a pre-owned version of the same model. But that financial dif- ference can be off-

set in part by the next two factors. 2. Better terms

It's usually better to pay cash for a car. And if you must borrow to buy one, paying the loan off quickly saves you money in inter-est expense.

But if you are looking to maintain as much finan-cial flexibility and cash-on-hand as possible, you can get more "new" car for a given monthly payment than you can "used."

That's because lenders

money generally offer loans for longer terms and at lower interest rates on new cars than what they provide on used vehicles.

A new car might be able to be financed for 5 per-cent interest over as much as 72 months, versus 6 percent over 60 months (at most) for a used vehicle. Under those conditions a car buyer looking to keep payments at $400 per month could get a $25,000 loan for a new car, but only about $20,000 for a used vehicle. 3. More predictable expenses

The financial payback from paying the higher price (and perhaps higher monthly payment) of a new car is that you're unlikely to incur any addi-tional expenses for quite some time.

First, new cars gener-ally are more reliable and unlikely to break down than their previously owned brethren.

See MONEY, Page 2D

Kevin McKinley

Cernohous

Briefcase — 2D Dilbert — 4D Money & Markets — 5D

LEADER-TELEGRAM

BUSINESS D Sunday

November 7, 2010

Contact: Business Editor Liam Marlaire • 715-833-9215 • 800-236-7077 • Iiam.marlaire@ecpc.com

By Liam Marlaire Leader-Telegram staff

S ome of the first computer pro-grams Michael LeMay wrote

provided password protection.

He then developed a hand-coded Web page, created a file encryption program in the C++ lan-guage and established an XML (extensible markup language) database man-ager written in Java.

And that was when the UW-Eau Claire graduate was only in his teens.

Now 25, LeMay is pur-suing a doctorate in computer science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He began researching e-mail security as a 16-year-old sophomore at UW-Eau Claire and recently earned a patent from the U.S. Pat-ent Office. He worked with Jack Tan, a computer sci-ence professor, on the proj-ect, which is titled "Secure Electronic Message Trans-port Protocol." The project led to a published paper and national presentations.

"SETP can potentially be used to protect and control any ordinary e-mail message," LeMay said via e-mail. "It seeks to reduce the amount of information that eaves-droppers on the Inter-net can obtain, while also increasing the level of assurance and con- trol afforded to legitimate communicating parties."

The work will benefit both academia and indus-try, Tan said. It's the first time a faculty-student research project at the university has earned a patent.

"To result in a patent, research outcomes must meet rigorous standards," said Karen Havholm, assistant vice chancellor

for research at UW-Eau Claire. She said around 800 students conduct research with faculty annually at the university.

WiSys Technology Foundation is licensing the patent for LeMay and Tan. The experience at UW-Eau Claire fueled LeMay's interest in fur-thering his education.

"The research I per-formed as an under-graduate excited me and con- vinced

Tan me that I should pursue my Ph.D.," said LeMay, who was 20 when he began the program and is scheduled to earn his doctorate in May. "My favorite aspect of research is the ability to personally control the whole process, from generating the ini- tial idea to implementing a working research proto-type, publishing the work, and possibly even commer-cializing it."

LeMay's father, David LeMay, worked for Cray in Chippewa Falls. Michael's interested in program-ming began at the age of 13, and he was involved in computer security issues beginning two years later. He was home-schooled from fifth through 12th grades.

Michael LeMay spent two years as an intern at Cray and has earned a National Defense Science and Engineering Gradu-ate Fellowship, which is intended to increase the number of people trained in science and engineer-ing disciplines important to the military. He cur-rently is hoping to land a security research job at an industrial or governmen-tal laboratory.

"He's meticulous, inno-vative and intelligent, all hallmarks of a great researcher," Tan has said of LeMay. "He'll be a pro-lific researcher who will one day be a major con-tributor in his chosen field." Dream job

Rich Christoph, who graduated from UW-Stout in 2005, also got an early start toward his career. Growing up on a small farm in Iowa, he bought his first motorcycle when he was 11 years old. Christoph now works for Harley-Davidson.

"There wasn't a lot of extra money laying around for a Harley-Davidson," Christoph, 30, said via e-mail. "Espe-cially in those days, there was a waiting list even for

See ALUMNI, Page 2D

Contributed photos Above: UW-Eau Claire graduate Michael LeMay, 25, is pursuing a doctorate at the University of Illinois and does research at the Thomas M. Siebel Center for Computer Science in Urbana. Below: UW-Stout graduate Rich Christoph, 30, second from right, was the lead designer of the Forty-Eight, a new model of Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He works for Harley in Milwaukee.

Accomplished area alumni

UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stout graduates making strides outside classroom

Business Bytes Award to recognize up-and-coming businesses

MADISON — Wisconsin Entrepre-neurs' Network is accepting nominations for its 2011 Wisconsin Companies to Watch awards.

The awards honor second-stage companies for their performance and innovative products, services or processes. Second-stage compa-nies employ at least six people, are privately owned and have between $750,000 and $50 million in annual revenue.

The 2010 list of Com-panies to Watch included Interfacial Solutions and Fiberstar, both of River Falls. Jeffrey Cerno- Lindquist hous is the president and founder of Interfacial Solutions, a materi-als development and technology transfer company, and Dale Lindquist is president and CEO for Fiberstar, a food research and development firm.

The deadline to submit a nomination is Dec. 10. Companies may nominate themselves. Once nominated, interested companies must submit an application by Jan. 14. Those selected as 2011 Wisconsin Companies to Watch will be recognized May 5 in Madison.

For more information visit www. wisconsincompaniestowatch. org or contact Cathy Sullivan at wisconsinctw@lowe.org .

Foundation open houses set The Eau Claire, Chippewa and Dunn

county community foundations are high- lighting philanthropy Nov. 12 through 18

in celebration of Community Foundation Week.

Each area community foundation —Community Foundation of Dunn County, 500 Main St., Menomonie; Community Foundation of Chippewa County, 4041/2 N. Bridge St., Chippewa Falls; and Eau Claire Community Foundation, 306 S. Barstow St. — will host an open house from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17.

Through Thanksgiving the public may contribute to the unrestricted funds of their local foundation and multiply its impact through matching donations pledged by Bauman Associates, Larson-Allen, Lasker Jewelers, Market & John-son, Senn Blacktop, Ruder Ware, Wipfli, and Weld, Riley, Prenn & Ricci.

For more information visit www. cfdunncounty.org (Dunn County), www. yourlegacyforever.org (Chippewa County) or www.eccommunityfoundation.org (Eau Claire).

Military support recognized ARLINGTON, Va. — Nominations

are being accepted for the 2011 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, which recognizes employers who have provided support for military employ-ees beyond federal law requirements.

Nominations will be accepted at www.freedomaward.mil through Jan. 17. Winners will be announced in the spring and honored during a ceremony Sept. 22 in Washington, D.C. For more information contact Beth Sherman of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve at esgr-pa@osd.mil or 703-696-1171, ext. 539.

■ The National Veteran-Owned Busi-ness Association on Thursday is launch-ing Buy Veteran, a service to connect Americans with businesses owned or operated by veterans. Visit the business directory at www.buyveteran.com .

From staff reports