The first few flakes of snow were falling at Runde Chevrolet near Lancaster when Lisa B. picked up her new Chevrolet Equinox 2LT AWD. The Bloomington Wisconsin resident said the vehicle was a smart choice for the upcoming winter weather driving. “It’s something that will work well in the snow, since winter is coming,” she said. “And I liked the color.” The gold Equinox was the first vehicle that Lisa has purchased from Runde Auto Group. “My uncle bought here and my brother bought here as well, so they both recommended it,” she said. Her salesperson, Shannon Mulrooney at Runde Chevrolet, was helpful throughout the sales process. “He answered all my questions, was very informative, and has a good personality.  I will definitely recommend him to my friends in Bloomington [...]

Duane and Linda Huber drove home happy in their new red Silverado today.  They are by no means strangers to Runde Chevrolet. The couple, who live in Janesville, Wis., have purchased at least five vehicles from us. Today they picked up a red Silverado 1500 LT 4WD Crew Cab. “I trade about every 6 to 7 months,” Duane said. He liked the options available on this truck, which will be used for plenty of traveling. “We are on the road a lot,” Linda said. “We have a son in Texas and a daughter and grandchildren in Appleton, as well as farm up north, so we are hauling a lot.” Their salesperson was Dave Frazier at Runde Chevrolet. [...]

Runde Chevrolet (now former) salesperson Nick Roche will be a featured artist in an upcoming exhibition at Gallery C! The show, called Surroundings, will feature Nick’s abstract oil paintings, as well as work by Amy Fuller and sculptures by guest artist Gary Carstens. “I’m excited to show there because I’ve only exhibited in smaller venues before,” Nick said. The opening reception will be 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14 at Gallery C, in the Schmid Innovation Center, 900 Jackson St., Suite 113, in Dubuque. It will continue through Jan. 11. Nick studied creative writing and studio art with an emphasis in painting and drawing at Loras College. “My paintings are inspired by landscapes,” he said. He recently competed in Art Slam at Voices X, winning second place in the professional category. Amy Fuller, a Studio Works artist, will show a series of oil paintings that were inspired by her trips to India and Spain. Guest artist [...]

Carole Dodson has already made her new 2015 Equinox all-wheel-drive LTZ her own.  We got a chance to ask her a few questions about her new ride for the Runde Blog before she drove home happy. She installed a ladybug flower design license plate frame before it even left the Runde Auto Group lot this morning. It’s a touch she has added to her vehicles for years, “They don’t make them anymore, and I really like it,” she said. This was the first vehicle Carole and her husband Herman, of Darlington, Wis., have purchased from Runde’s. “We had an Equinox, but it was white,” Carole said. “It’s a good ride and we like the looks.” She plans to take good care of her new crystal red [...]

Kelly Johnson and her husband Steve Hickie came to Runde Chevrolet after hearing plenty of praise for salesperson Jake Meyer from their relatives. (Update from 5-4-20:  Jake Meyer is no longer a salesperson at Runde Auto Group.  He left a few years ago to pursue other interests.  If you’re in need of assistance or are interested in purchasing a new Chevy Silverado High Country, please contact us or call us at 866-735-5200.) “If Jake Meyer can please my in-laws, trust me,” Kelly said. “My brother-in-law just bragged him up to the high heavens.” The Galena, Illinois couple leased a new Chevrolet Silverado High Country 4WD crew cab for their business. They own Main Event Hair Salon, in Galena, and Little Keg, a convenience store [...]

It was a cloudy day when Dick R. picked up his new Chevrolet Equinox LTZ at Runde Chevrolet just 1 mile east of Dubuque, but he was full of sunshine. He was thrilled as he checked out the added chrome touches on the mirrors, roof rack and door handles, and as he inspected the pinstripe down the side of the crystal red Equinox. “I think the nice touch of the little extras make it worth it,” he said. “I’m old school, and I was reflecting back on the cars of the ’50s and ’60s and their chrome.” This is his fifth vehicle from Runde Auto Group, and his third Equinox from the dealership. “I like the styling, I like the handling, and I like the fact that [...]

The new Chevy Colorado has arrived at Runde’s, a Dubuque area Chevrolet dealership. What Chevrolet has labeled a “truck for all seasons and occasions,” this mid-size pickup has practically everything: good fuel efficiency and best-in-class towing capabilities.  These are all things that people look for when shopping for a truck in the Dubuque area:  Fuel efficiency because people don’t like to pay a lot for gas in Dubuque, yet many Dubuquers own a boat and need a truck with power to tow it down the the Mississippi River during the summer.  And at Runde’s we often hear customers saying how they’d like to own or lease a truck, but they don’t want to drive, fuel-up, and have to park a full-size truck.  Well, the new Colorado with it’s smaller exterior dimensions might [...]

Runde Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Manchester is hoping for plenty of sunshine after having invested in solar panels. Earlier this week, the dealership was outfitted with solar panels on the roof of the main structure so it’s now running partially on power from the sun. The panels were installed by Blue Sky Solar. “I thought it was really great that Runde’s was so forward-thinking,” said Raki Giannakouros, the vice president of Blue Sky Solar. “I would say that now solar is the hot item in Iowa. I used to call people to try to sell solar and now I’m trying to keep up with the calls.”

Salesperson Tim Meyer of Dubuque will soon be celebrating a retirement and a birthday all at the same time.  He will retire from Runde Chevrolet in East Dubuque on Nov. 4 – two days before his 62nd birthday. “I’ll have 29 years and 9 months in the car business and most of that has included selling new Chevy vehicles in Dubuque and the surrounding areas,” Tim said. “I come from an automobile parts family over in Dubuque, so I’ve been fed and clothed by the automobile industry almost all my life.” Tim is excited to travel to visit family members, like his brother in Ohio, sister in northern Illinois and his brother in the Chicago area. He also is excited to spend more time with his family members here, including his 2 children, Megan, 34, and Jesse, 32, as well as his grandchildren and friends in Arizona. Tim started in the car business [...]

A Runde rental van was recently part of helping out a great cause. Participants in the 6th annual Research for the Kids Poker Run used a 15-passenger Runde rental van for the event, which raises money for the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. To date in 2014, they have raised $148,555. In the last six years, about $800,000 has been raised for the hospital to use for pediatric brain tumor and heart defect research. “Every year, doctors come before the ride leaves and tell us about what they do with the money and the machines they buy to help the little ones,” said Lori Dupont, a participant. “There are no in-between people, all the money goes directly to them. I think [...]

Runde Chevrolet salesperson Nick Roche was awarded second place in the professional category of Art Slam at Voices X on Saturday! This was his first time competing in the 90-minute live painting competition. “It went well,” Nick said. “It went really fast.  It was kind of hard to know when to stop because you only had so long and so you didn’t want to put too much in and not be able to fix mistakes. With about 10 minutes to the end, I was pretty much done.” The subjects of the painting were models posing in the warehouse at the corner of 10th and Jackson streets. Nick’s favorite part was the feedback he received. “A guy was watching me – my dad overheard him, actually – and he said he knew by my style who I had learned that under,” Nick said. “He came up to me after and said he was interested to see [...]

The most theft-prone vehicle in America might be the Dodge Charger or it might be the Ford F-250 pickup truck. Those are the contrasting conclusions of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the insurance industry-funded Highway Loss Data Institute. Still, the government agency and private group agree that the theft of late-model vehicles is on a rapid decline in the United States. One reason: automakers’ increasing use of ignition immobilizers, which stop thieves from hot-wiring cars. Nearly 90 percent of 2012 models are equipped with them. In a report released on Monday, NHTSA said the car stolen most often during the 2011 calendar year was the Charger, with 4.8 thefts for every 1,000 cars produced in 2011. It was followed by the Mitsubishi Galant, Hyundai Accent, Chevrolet Impala and Chevrolet HHR among vehicles with more than 5,000 units [...]

Global sales of BMW Group’s core brand rose faster in June than at Audi and Mercedes-Benz as demand from China and the United States helped the premium carmaker to extend a lead over the two rivals in the first six months of the year. Sales at the brand were up 9 percent last month to 153,075, the group said today, compared with growth of 5 percent to 140,300 and 8 percent to 131,609 at Audi and Mercedes respectively. Six-month sales at BMW brand rose 8 percent to 804,000 cars, expanding the lead over runner-up Audi to 24,000 from 11,000 after five months. Half-year sales at Audi and Mercedes rose 6 percent each to 780,500 and 694,000 respectively. “BMW has stronger momentum than Audi and Mercedes, that won’t change in the second half,” said Hanover-based NordLB analyst Frank Schwope. “Design of their cars has improved and they’re ahead on fuel-saving technologies.”

Tesla Motors Inc., the world’s best-performing automotive stock this year, will join the Nasdaq-100 Index next week, filling the spot vacated by Oracle Corp., which is moving to the New York Stock Exchange. The electric-car maker will be added to the gauge, which tracks the biggest companies on the Nasdaq, before the start of trading on July 15, Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. said in a statement Monday. Oracle, which last month said it will join the NYSE, is the biggest company to jump between the competing exchanges. Shares of Tesla, the carmaker headed by billionaire Elon Musk, have more than tripled this year as the popularity of its new Model S sedan helped the company turn its first quarterly profit. Gaining entry to benchmarks tracked by investors is attractive to public companies because it provides a guaranteed shareholder [...]

The Toyota Camry and the Honda Civic, the top-selling mid-size and compact cars in the U.S., face risks of reduced production as inventories of the models rise, an RBC Capital Markets report said. The Toyota Camry exceeded its seasonal historical average inventory by more than 15 days supply in June and Honda carried about 25 days more Civics than usual, Joseph Spak, a New York-based analyst for RBC, said in today’s report. Camry and Civic were the only models identified as at risk for reduced output among 16 of the top-selling vehicles in the U.S. market. General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC all added U.S. market share in the first six months of 2013, the first time that all three gained first-half share in 20 years. Models such as GM’s Chevrolet Cruze compact and Ford’s Fusion mid-size sedan [...]

Fiat today exercised an option to raise its stake in Chrysler by 3.3 percent. The move is part of CEO Sergio Marchionne‘s step-by-step purchases intended to lead to full control of Chrysler and the creation of a merged company that would be able to compete better with industry leaders Toyota, General Motors and Volkswagen. Fiat has been exercising options since mid-2012 to buy holdings of about 3.3 percent from the VEBA, a medical-benefits trust for the U.S. carmaker’s retirees. Including today’s purchase, Fiat has exercised three of its six-monthly options, increasing its stake to 68.49 percent. Fiat has said it wants full control of Chrysler, which would give it access to some of Chrysler’s cash flow for investments in new models. Chrysler has become Fiat’s most reliable profit generator as the Italian company struggles to end losses in Europe that totaled 704 million euros [...]

Runde Auto Group recently welcomed two new sales professionals.   James Mahoney Runde Chevrolet in East Dubuque, IL, is excited to have James Mahoney join its sales staff! James was raised in Potosi, WI, but is currently living in Dubuque. He has always had an interest in vehicles. “I’ve always been interested in old and new cars, so I thought this may be a fun career,” he said. “I was the kid with hundreds of Hot Wheels and the whole Hot Wheels City to go with it.” His favorite vehicle is a 1972 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible because “nothing beats the classics!” In his spare time, James enjoys hunting, fishing, and spending time with friends and family. He has two sisters and two brothers. So [...]

Runde Auto Group is excited to once again be a sponsor of Voices From the Warehouse District and they are very excited about Voices X. This year marks the month-long art exhibition’s 10th anniversary, and Voices X is set to be bigger and better than ever. “We really wanted to focus on things that we haven’t had before — more installation artists and more digital media artists,” said Janice Roerig-Blong, exhibition coordinator of Voices X. There will be 14 exhibiting artists, including local, regional and some from as far away as Seattle and New York, as well as three guest artists.  Gene Tully, the founder of Voices, will also be exhibiting his work this year. “He hasn’t (exhibited) since I think the first or second Voices,” Janice said. One of the pieces [...]

The Runde Golf Outing on Saturday was a great success! More than 80 people golfed at Lacoma Golf Course and then enjoyed a delicious dinner. Here are some photos from the event:   Prizes were awarded to: Runde Golf Outing First Flight 1st: Sullivan, Rowe, Totman, Dodds 2nd: Konrardy, Konrardy, Reiter, Meyer   Second Flight 1st: Runde, Larson, Oster, Wahlert 2nd: Zeimet, Zeimet, Vickerman, Vickerman   9 Hole Flag Prizes 1. Closest to the Pin – Jonathan Sutter 2. Closest to the Pin with 3rd Shot – Chris Kerkel 3. Closest to 150 Marker – Cliff Splinter 4. Longest Putt (Men) – Nick Roche 5. Longest Putt (Women) – Jan Splinter 6. Closest to Pin from Off Green – Jeff Runde 7. Shortest Drive Used – Jan Splinter 8. Closest to Pin – Gloria Markers   Best Dressed 1st – Ryan Larson and Chance Runde 2nd – Kyle Larson and Dan Wahlert

Combining Military Strength Aluminum Alloy and High Strength Steel is the winning formula behind Ford’s New Ford F-150. The bold new approach to truck production promises to be stronger than previous F-150 models resulting in a truck that produces efficiency without compromise. So where’s all the aluminum located in the truck you might ask? According to ford, the body panels and cab walls, one unstressed cross-member in the frame and various internal parts. The rest of the frame is steel, mostly high-strength steel.   Ford is currently offering 3 engine variations:   New 3.5L V6 Ti-VCT FFV Delivers 283 horsepower and 255 lb.-ft. of torque for a max payload of 1,910 lbs. and max towing capacity of 7,600.  The “Ti-VCT” is short for Twin independent variable camshaft timing. This feature automatically adjusts intake [...]

Runde Chevy customer Jeanne Harrington should be considered an extremely loyal customer as she’s been buying cars from us for many years. The St. Catherine, Iowa resident has actually been purchasing vehicles from Runde Auto Group’s sales manager John Riley since 1989 (back when he was working for another Chevrolet dealership across the river). She was in again today to purchase a new Chevrolet Cruze. She said John takes care of his customers and the rest of the sales staff has always been nice too. “I haven’t really had problems, but I know that if I need help with something, he will help,” Jeanne said. “The battery was dead a couple months ago and I called him and he told me what to do. We were in an accident a [...]

Customer service is extremely important to Kathy and Robert Simon.  Today they were reminded why they keep coming back to Runde Auto Group: the dealership’s dedication to customer satisfaction. The Dubuque couple purchased a white Chevrolet Corvette Convertible, but their salesman Mark Fleege didn’t disappear after the deal was complete.  Just the opposite actually. The heart of great customer service ultimately comes down to time … Mark takes the time to work with his customers, he takes the time to explain things to his customers, and he also takes the time to make sure has has met all of his customers’ needs.  That’s customer service and that’s Runde Auto Group. Mark has worked for Runde’s for so long that excellent customer service is actually encoded into his DNA strands.  All [...]

Bill and Joslyn Seefeldt from Milton, WI (just north of Janesville) drove a couple hours to buy their new Chevy Sonic mostly because of Runde Auto Group’s dedication to customer service. “We contacted several dealers in our neighborhood and they said it would be too hard to get the car or it wouldn’t be efficient for them to get the exchange,” Bill said. The couple got what they wanted at Runde’s: a new Chevy Sonic LT, with a turbocharged engine. The hatchback vehicle will be used as a work car for Joslyn, who is a farrier (which is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses’ hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves). “I wanted something that was very fuel efficient and the new Chevy Sonic will be a work car for me,” Joslyn said. “I drove one over the winter when my truck was laid up and [...]

Runde Chevrolet got a blast from the past when Bob Kinsella pulled into the lot in his 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle SS with a 396. The vehicle, with its frost green exterior and dark green vinyl top and interior, was purchased from Paul Runde at Runde Chevrolet back in 1968. The cost for the special order at the time was just $4,165.90. Its original receipt itemizes features the vehicle included, like a clock for $15, the vinyl top for $89, the rear window defroster for $22 and bucket seats for $121. The 375 horsepower 396 engine, which [...]

Alan Schorr recently purchased a used Corvette from Runde Auto Group.  The trouble is he lives 3,000 miles away. If you wanted to go on a nice, long drive, that’s a straight 60 hour non-stop drive from our PreDriven store in Hazel Green, WI. It wasn’t the frigid climate that got this Alaskan away from home to come to the states. It was fate, met with a ridiculously hot deal that not even 3,000 miles could stand in the way of. Alan, I hear you had quite the trip to get here? I live in Juneau, Alaska. Alaska is a big place, we live in a part of Alaska that’s actually close to the United States at just 1,100 miles north of the border. How was the flight? I took three planes to get here. I flew from Alaska to Seattle then from Seattle to Chicago and another flight from Chicago to Dubuque. [...]