My mom hates him, my dad thinks he’s ok, I think he’s a great comedian. I guess you could guess who I’m talking about from the title of the post, but for those who don’t read titles and just want to get to the meat and potatoes … I am talking about the love-him-or-hate-him talk show host Conan O’Brien. In a recent segment he tried to defend his 1992 Ford Taurus SHO vs. the new 2010 Ford SHO in terms of style, safety and features (“That’s actually factory installed bird crap”). I really must say, as a former ’98 Taurus owner, I have respect for any celebrity who drives around in a ’92 Ford Sho. Watch and love …       

Dave Cannon, from Manchester, IA is definitely a Ram truck man.  He owns his own log home maintenance company. Between going camping and repairing log homes, Dave Cannon stopped by our Manchester store to pick up a vehicle. Before he stepped out the door I managed to sneak in a few questions. What did you come in for today? I picked up my new Dodge Ram 2500. We heard you were a Ram truck man, is that true? Definitely. Who was your salesperson? Cory Harbach. What do you think of your salesman? He’s a good guy and he does a great job. How would you rank your overall experience here at Runde’s on a scale of 1-10? A “TEN”, everything was great, I had [...]

Who didn’t like to color as a kid?  Did you ever enter a coloring contest or send a drawing into Highlights magazine? Getting those books of pre-made art for you to fill in with color between the lines (or, at least in my case, outside of the lines) was awesome. Meet your new coloring book – the Chevy Volt, once released, will come in this nice grayish-blue with a hint of greenish color… “Wait, what’s the  color called” you might be asking yourself? Well, my friend, that is entirely up to you… or someone else that thought of a cooler name than you. While the coloring may have already been done, it’s up to you to label the color with a name. A different kind of coloring contest if you will … GM is offering you a trip to drive the one of the first Volts just for giving a name to the color of the Volt above. But that [...]

The ideal of a healthier, cleaner tomorrow might be one step closer than you think. With houses like the GreenHouse in McLean, Virginia which is more energy efficient than 99.99% of the homes built since 2000, and the introduction of hybrid vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt, we are making big leaps towards a better tomorrow. But looking back, who would have imagined that the things that help our future would look so good! I mean look at that house… it looks amazing, inside and out. And look at that Volt! What a great combination. If this is what it takes for a better future then sign me up 10 times over. It’s still difficult to grasp the fact that GM is bringing to mainstream production a car (the Chevy Volt) that can go about 250 miles without using a [...]

Top Gear, in my opinion, is the best automotive show. Recently they reviewed (in quite a hysterical way) the Ford Fiesta. After you watch the video you will know what to expect if you get chased by “baddies” in a Corvette while in a shopping mall.  If you’re not interested in a Fiesta at all and you just want to see the Fiesta race a Corvette in the mall, then skip forward to 4min, 23sec.  If you want to see if the Ford’s new compact car floats, then skip ahead to 8min, 4sec. If you have any questions about the Fiesta or are interested in purchasing one, give our Ford store in Manchester, IA a call at 888-927-2630 and they will be more than happy to assist you picking out a vehicle that is apparently fit for extreme chase scenes and horrific combat… can’t go wrong with that.    

The Foodpack Program in Dubuque is something with no downside.  It’s just a good idea that helps children and families in need in the local area.  There are things that make you happy on the inside. Perhaps seeing someone you love prevail in something they always wanted to do, or watching a cartoon while sitting on the couch at home all snuggled up with your family, or maybe it’s something so small as to hear the crunch of Fall leafs under your feet. Hopefully reading about the Foodpack Program in Dubuque is something that makes you feel like the world is steering itself in the right direction.  The selflessness of some who make sure that the less fortunate are taken care of is [...]

Have you ever given any thought to date cars or the kind of car a guy drives when picking up a girl for a first date?  Girls, you gotta admit that you care, to some sort of degree, about what kind of car your man, date, or fling drives. At first glance what he drives gives a little insight into what kind of guy he is. Maybe he’s the hot jock with no brains, the nerd hoping to meet his princess Leia, the shut-in who’s really a sweet guy, the perfect man, the man who has a secret life… there’s so many possibilities. When it comes down to it, though, it’s all about what we perceive as good features in a guy… and his car. Judging from a car, maybe one girl would think that a Camaro means the guy is really exciting where  as girl 2 might think he’s a total sport car freak, [...]

“Um … I’d like to think about it” I think we’ve all gone through it. The feeling of uncertainty when opening or using something expensive for the first time. You know that as soon as you open that package or start using it that it’s yours.  If you drop it and break it at that point, you already bought it … it’s yours.  I remember my heart pounding last month when I opened and mounted a new T.V. that I spent over a $1,000 on.   I like my TV and I don’t want to part with it for a long time.  But what if 30 days after I got it, I decided that it didn’t meet my needs and I wanted to return it. We have many people in and out of Runde’s everyday — buying cars and driving away in them.  Do they like them?  Are they satisfied?  Do the vehicles always meet the needs [...]

Where do people go for up-to-date information about Ford electric vehicles?  Why Jay Leno, of course.  Who didn’t like watching Jay Leno? There’s just something about the show that sucks you in and leaves you feeling happy. Once he announced that he’d no longer do the Tonight Show, it was pretty easy to predict that there would be another show around the corner with Leno as the star. People can’t seem to get enough of him. The man is a car enthusiast with an extensive garage of vehicles that no one else could really fathom owning under one roof. To add to his already great name, he’s also a Chevy fan making him just THAT much cooler. In his new show, which will start airing September 14th, Jay will feature a section called “The Green Car Challenge” where the Ford electric vehicles will star. In the segment celebs will hop in Fords environmentally friendly vehicles [...]

Time Magazine recently published the top 10 most exciting vehicles of the year. Making the list are three vehicle makes that Runde’s offers. Here are the three along with pictures and what Time had to say about them: 1. The Suzuki Kizashi What Time Magazine has to say: “Known for small cars and SUVs, Suzuki makes its first foray into the heart of the U.S. market with the midsize Kizashi sedan. The exterior styling is fresh, and the interior packs cool features such as sporty seats and a nifty instrument cluster that give the car character. The Kizashi’s key asset could be its power train, which includes a new 4-cylinder aluminum engine that can be matched up to either a six-speed manual transmission or a continuously variable automatic transmission. Kizashi won’t go on sale until late fall, and the price is expected to be in the low-$20,000 range. Toyota and Honda better look over [...]

Who would’ve thought that the key to getting your teenager to drive responsibly was in the car keys … literally.  If you’re a parent, you’re naturally going to worry about your kids when they start to drive. Who doesn’t get discouraged when they see another fatality on the news involving teens, beer, and speeding? It’s enough to make any parent want to keep their kid’s vehicle options limited to a bike or the bus … God forbid they ever walk anywhere. But alas, we must face the reality that our kids need to drive — ask any parent who has ever played the chauffeur role. (Note to audience:  In tonight’s performance, the role of the chauffeur will be played by the person who writes those clever little blog posts.  The role of the kids will be played by the [...]

Who doesn’t remember their first car? Was yours a Camaro coupe … probably not, eh?  For some of us it was the ugliest thing that stunk up the road with black clouds of gas and gave its road audition in triple forte with a busted muffler. Others had a nicer car, perhaps given to them by their parents, or possibly they worked hard counting pennies ’til they could buy that special first car they had their eye on. Regardless of what kind of shape or condition our first cars were, one thing remains true for just about everyone: our first car holds some sort of sentimental value that no car after it can give us. It’s the first time you get to feel the fresh air coming in through the window in a vehicle that you have complete control over. You and your first vehicle share many things for the first time. First ticket, first [...]

There was some important news announced this week regarding the Chevy Aveo and the Suzuki SX4.  Read further to find out why these two small cars are currently turning so many heads. There is a difference between what sounds good and what is good. In several “inexpensive” vehicles you will come to find that the gas mileage is high, the cost to fix the vehicle is outrageous, or that the vehicle is not reliable. We don’t believe in selling vehicles that only sound good here at Runde’s … we sell vehicles that are good. We offer several inexpensive vehicles for those on a budget and according to Edmunds.com, two of our most affordable vehicles ended up on toward the top of their top 10 list of most affordable vehicles. Edmunds determined which vehicles were actually the cheapest to own by computing an estimated total five-year cost and the cost per mile based on driving 15,000 miles per [...]

Now that the Cash For Clunkers program has come to an end the question on my mind is.  Let’s look at the Cash for Clunkers results to try to see if it will it actually have an environmental or economic impact? While the long term effects might take some time to determine, from the numbers I’ve been seeing it seems like it, at the very least, helped on the short term side of things.  According to the Cash For Clunkers Environmental Impact Survey; Average Clunker MPG: 17MPG Average NEW car MPG: 24MPG Average miles driven annually: 15,000 Destroyed Clunker drinks 882 gallons of gas a year New, replacement car drinks 625 gallons of gas a year Cash for Clunker Program saves 257 gallons of gas each year, per unit sold. c4c Sales Estimate: 750,000 units If you were to equate this out, you’d end up with 193 million gallons of gas [...]

With all of the controversy and talk behind the Cash For Clunkers Program, I thought it’d be nice to have some fun with it. The people behind the “Crash your Clunkers” events drive junker automobiles off of a cliff… with a remote control. Seriously, who thinks of this stuff, it looks like they strapped some sort of device on top of a bunch of boxes and secured the steering wheel down with some wood that’s put together with some duct tape. This is by far the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen… or perhaps the smartest? Regardless, it’s good ol’ entertainment … enjoy.   (Runde’s in no way, shape or form suggests that you try this at home. And kids out there … Please remember that sticks and stones will break your bones, but crashing clunkers will do a heck of a lot worse to ya.)

Disabling a clunker is ultimately the end result of the government’s Cash for Clunkers national program. Best idea ever. Or perhaps the worst idea ever? Regardless of which you pick, it’s undeniable that the Cash for Clunkers  program has struck up some controversy, and with good reason. On one end the program is taking gas guzzling, environmentally unfriendly vehicles off the road. On the other side, however, the vehicles that must be destroyed could provide transportation for those who couldn’t otherwise afford a vehicle. While there might be a thousand points towards the good and another thousand to the bad, it doesn’t promote or evoke the fact that the Cash for Clunkers is law and will be here until either the money runs out.  With that in mind, we thought we’d give you [...]

How do you know if the The 2009 Chevrolet Traverse is right for you? We’ll we’re about to find out if this new crossover vehicle has what it takes to woo buyers. If you are like me you prefer the versatility, safety, and all the extra features a Crossover has for a woman. Getting groceries is a cinch with all the extra space.   Family, friends, and pets can easily fit into them and you don’t feel worried about your kids taking one on a drive because they are generally some of the safest vehicles on the road. The video below explains the progression of the crossover and how GM is incorporating more of a women’s perspective into their functional design of crossovers. The vehicle showcased below, the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse, has won many awards for safety and driving and I can personally attest to how great of a vehicle it is. If you have any [...]

People, let’s face it, we have all gotten into purchasing something or another without fully understanding what we are buying or why we need to buy it. I went into a computer repair center last week to get my desktop computer looked at and I could have almost sworn that the person helping me was speaking a foreign language. He was saying stuff about “ram” and “mega bytes” and “Mozilla Firefox”… It sort of sounded like he was talking about a Japanese horror movie or something … what the heck??!!  In any case, I trusted that he knew what he was doing and ended up paying about $150.00 in repairs. He mentioned something about spyware when I went in to pick it [...]

Is the new Cash for Clunkers program right for you?  Well please read ahead to find out the specifics of the current program offered by the US government to help jump start the economy.   Still rolling down the road in your beat up 1987 Cadillac DeVille Fleetwood Brougham rear-wheel-drive with 277,000 miles?  Well, now might be the opportune time to trade in that beauty for a brand new vehicle as the “Cash for Clunkers” program has been approved and will be giving you top dollar for your old gas-guzzling machine. It’s kind of like getting 500 bucks for the suit that you wore to your high school homecoming dance back in 1987 — you know — the one with the elbow patches that smells like moth balls. In short, this program will offer you either $3,500 or $4,500 credit off of a new vehicle when you trade in a vehicle that meet requirements. The trade-in vehicle: 1. Must be either a car, light truck, [...]

The Chevy Volt Hybrid car is something different and new, naturally you probably have some questions about the vehicle and how it all works. Well, to your luck, the Chief Engineer behind the Chevy Volt – Andrew Farah, answered several great questions about the Volt in the following Q&A. 4:02 [Comment From Scott ] How was the drive and how does it compare to other hybrids such as the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius? 4:04 Andrew Farah:  Clearly I enjoyed the significantly longer EV distance that is available with the Volt.   I had to drive quite some distance before the engine came on, even though I didn’t start with a full charge.   By comparison, our chassis is much more sporty than either of [...]

Go ahead, take all the road trips you want this summer, Suzuki’s got you covered.  You can either buy a new fuel efficient Suzuki SX4 or you can take part in Suzuki’s new promotion.  So listen closely if you’re tired of paying too much for gas in the Dubuque area. Suzuki wants you to enjoy your summer by supplying you with FREE gas for the Summer when you purchase any Suzuki SX4 model. Qualified buyers will receive a pre-paid gas card from Suzuki, valued at $270 or $290 depending on which model you buy. In addition to the gas promotion you can get $2,000 customer cash if you buy a Suzuki SX4 with a manual transmission or $1,000 customer cash if you buy the automatic. This promotion launched on July 1st and will run until August 31. Check out the Suzuki SX4 in action here: If you are interested in taking advantage of the great [...]

Hello Gary, can you tell me a little bit about the event? This is the single largest event in Dubuque. This is the 24th annual year that Radio Dubuque has been involved with the 3rd of July show. It is a combination air-show and fireworks display. The Air Force has estimated our crowd at, well, let’s just say in the tens of thousands. Where is the show located? The central location for the show is down by the Dubuque lock and dam on 1860 Hawthorne St. The firework show starts at 9:45 and typically lasts around 25-30 minutes. The air show runs from about 6:00-8:15.    A bunch of awesome aircraft in one location? [...]

The Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) program is off and running and a lot of people are taking advantage of it.  And who wouldn’t take advantage of it.  Normally if people trade in a “junker” old car or a “rust bucket” they’ll get something like $500 to $2000 on trade.  But with the new Car Allowance Rebate System program, they’re now getting either $3500 or $4500 on those same vehicles.  Now that’s a great deal! So if you’re still rolling down the road in your beat up 1987 Cadillac DeVille Fleetwood Brougham rear-wheel-drive with 277,000 miles, now might be the opportune time to trade in that beauty for a brand new vehicle as the “Cash for Clunkers” program has been approved and will be giving you top dollar for your old gas-guzzling machine. It’s kind of like getting 500 bucks for the suit that you wore to your high school homecoming dance back in 1987 [...]

Ford Syncing is definitely a new thing.  With all of the technology that has been heaped on our generation over the past few years, sometimes it’s hard to keep up with all of the awesome new “stuff”.  He’s that guy. The one that nearly avoids getting into an accident because he’s on his cell phone. In honesty, YOU are probably that guy or girl sometimes yourself — I know I am occasionally. Safety is very important while driving.  I’m quite confident that using a cell phone and texting while driving won’t exactly put a smile on your parents’ faces. It’s a good thing that now you can do those distracting activities you find yourself doing, time and time again, without putting your, or any other, life at danger thanks to Ford Syncing. Released in over twelve of the 2008 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles, the Ford Sync lets those who opt for the system to wirelessly [...]

You might remember Justin Hanger from our blog post back in April. Click here to refresh your memory.  Justin works part-time after school for us taking the online photos of cars, and recording  vehicle videos. This is his story… Justin started life in Pensacola, FL, where he lived until he was three. Health complications related to his grandparents forced his family to return to small town life in nearby Dickeyville, WI. He has one sister (Andrea, 19) and two brothers (Brian, 13 and Brandon, 6). All of the boys attend Cuba City Schools, with Justin being a Senior at the high school. At the age of 10, Justin got his first experience driving on a cold winter day when he ran a four-wheeler into the back of the neighbors Jeep.  He was driving down the road when he hit a snowbank, which sent him into a cataclysmic spiral towards the aforementioned Jeep. “It barely knocked off the dust off the bumper” according to Justin, but it all [...]