Testimonials from Runde Auto Group Customers I have bought more trucks off of Runde than you got teeth.  I am telling you the truth.  Tim Runde is in his establishment.  There isn’t a finer dealership around here.  I am 63 years old and I have bought new trucks since 1977, every year.  So you figure that out.  I don’t have any problems with Runde or their dealership.  If there was a problem in the past, I went out there and they took care of it, no questions, no hassle.  It was done.  They are good, that is why they are as big as they are. Melvin D. – East Dubuque, IL      This is just a short note to thank you for the wonderful service we received when we were there to purchase our new truck.  [...]

Our hard-to get Camaros has attracted many eyes, including the prestigious former Cincinnati wide receiver, Mardy Gilyard. Mr. Gilyard recently purchased his brand new Chevrolet Camaro at Runde’s in East Dubuque with the assistance of Runde Chevrolet’s very own Mark “Flop” Fleege. Marshawn “Mardy” Gilyard, age 23, was born in Palm Coast, FL and started his football career early in high school. He was a first-team class 5A all-state selection and had over 2,500 yards and 30 touchdowns, which lead to him being chosen as MVP in the Florida Coast All-Star game. From there, Mardy left for college with a scholarship to University of Cincinnati, where he played his freshman year as a cornerback. Unfortunately during his sophomore year of college, Mardy was [...]

Don Hart is a guy who always seems to be on the go. From being a landlord, plowing and maintaining several rental properties to helping out those in need by doing missionary work, Don’s always on the move.  He calls himself “retired” but it looks like he has a full load to me! To learn more about this interesting person, we had a nice chat before he hit the mean  streets in his new HHR. How did you find Runde’s? I found you guys through the internet. What site did you use? Did you find the vehicle you needed right away? Autotrader.com, I found the exact car I was looking for so I called you guys up. I talked to Al, I was pretty impressed by Al. What car did you find? I was looking for a Chevy HHR. Found it online, came here and test drove it, it was great so I took it. What do [...]

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and go on record saying the 2010 Chicago Auto Show is the auto lovers’ candy store.  The autos are eye candy for kids of all ages. “Bake me up a fresh batch of those Chevy’s, Candyman!!!”  Walking in the entrance to the show floor, it becomes overwhelming to think which direction to go first. Shortly after glancing over the offerings, it becomes apparent that your hours are turning into minutes and that the closing time of 10pm is far from fair. For those of you who couldn’t make the show, have no fear! Runde’s has you covered! Over the next week or so look forward to a review of the 2010 Chicago Auto Show, starting today with a few vehicles that were on display from Chevy. Check out the video’s below to see footage of the Cruze, Aveo RS and Volt!       [...]

Recently I had the chance to get to meet Marv and Kathy Jones, two fine folks from Freeport Illinois. They enjoyed their car buying experience at Runde Chevrolet so much that they wanted to share it with me and the rest of the world. Here’s what they had to say: What led you here to Runde Auto Group? I’m always lookin’ for something. Yesterday I drove through the PreDriven lot and saw a car the caught my eye. So I got out and looked at it then told my wife about it, before you know it we were talking to Al. What did you think of your experience here? It was absolutely great. On a scale of 1-10 what would you rate your salesman, [...]

There’s a new taxi in town … and it looks a lot like a Ford Transit Connect.  Taxi cabs are a huge part of big city life. Those of us from the Tri-States have probably been, at some point or another, to downtown Chicago (or another big city – if not you should really get out more…). Walking down the sidewalk and glancing at the traffic on big city streets, you probably think “glad I’m not driving in that mess of cars.” Chances are that you have experienced crazy taxi drivers — I know I have.  Several taxi drivers that I’ve witnessed don’t much care for the laws of the road as they almost hit pedestrians.  Since when does a red light mean go anyway?  Just as 30 is the new 20, red must be the new yellow in Metropolis. If you’re thinking about going back to Chicago in the near future, you’d better be [...]

To honor our hard working mechanics we had a sit down interview with one of them while he was in between projects. Let me introduce to you – Eric Tieskoetter. Oh the smells one would encounter being a mechanic. Exhaust, gas, diesel, oil, anti-freeze, and of course the mysterious “surprise” smell. The pains and misery their hands go through, the headaches, the frustrations… it’s, to say the least, no easy task to be a vehicle technician.  Hey Eric, tell the people a bit about yourself I was born in Dubuque and still live there. I moved several times throughout my life.  I’ve lived in Iowa City, Coralville, Cedar Rapids and Texas (for a year). I’ve lived in Dubuque for about 25 years though. How old are you? I’ll be 31 in two weeks; February 18th. Do you have any plans for your birthday? I don’t know yet, just lucky to be alive. What is [...]

Future technology is always evolving to the point where we don’t even know what to expect or what the future could possibly hold in store for us.  As you lay down in bed and flip through the channels, you find absolutely nothing to watch as usual. You resort to watching a re-re-re-re-rerun of an episode of Cops with footage from the 80’s and can’t stop thinking to yourself “I’ve never seen this stuff happen anywhere near me on the highway”. Continuing to watch the footage you eagerly wait and see what kind of damage this dude is going to unleash while driving so recklessly. It isn’t until about 5 other cars get hit and the suspect’s wheels come flying off as he ingeniously tries to make a sharp turn into a field full of cows does the chase end. Get ready for chase scenes on T.V. to get a whole lot more boring. The High [...]

I came across this child safety seat tutorial video and like it a lot. There’s nothing entertaining here … it’s just S-A-F-E-T-Y. Straightforward, plain and simple, but it’s also pretty comprehensive. It demonstrates how to install a front facing type of car seat. I have installed a car seat or two in my day and I really never thought to put your full weight on the seat or base like the demonstrator does in the video. I have pressed down on the seats and bases in an effort to get them tight and synched up, but seeing the video it makes sense and I’ll probably try to tighten up my car seats when I go home tonight. I know that a lot of car sales people take car seats for granted, but it is really not something that shouldn’t be overlooked. In my opinion, a lot of car salespersons would benefit from viewing a child [...]

Crusing down the road, windows down, music up, you are in the “zone” with this sweet new track playing on the radio. You start trying to sing parts of the chorus, and completely butcher the rest of the song. Full of emotion, you utter slightly slurred words mixed with gibberish to comprise what would surely amount to  a migraine for anyone unfortunate enough to be in the same car with you.   You get to the end of the song and look forward to the radio announcer revealing the name of the song and artist so you can download it on iTunes later.  But what the…the announcer reveals the details of the song you loved so dearly while your friend was yelling at you to get him some aspirin. Dang it all to [...]

Michelle brought in her two sons, Dylan and Tyler to get a few things done to their brand-new Chevy Tahoe.  Coming back from shopping while we put on a few bells-and-whistles on her Tahoe, She was more than delighted to share her experience with Runde’s. What brought you into Runde’s today? We bought eight cars from a dealer in Waterloo. But decided to try somewhere different. How did you find us? I was searching through Chevy.com for Tahoe’s and put in the different features I wanted in the vehicle and it showed me Runde Auto Group as having the Tahoe with the features I wanted in stock. *one of Michelle’s sons comes running through the door* Oh hello there.

For more than 90 years Runde’s has been committed to providing a great experience for our sales customers and that’s part of the reason why Runde’s has had such a large number of repeat customers over the years. We are extremely proud of our sales staff at Runde Auto Group and we always encourage customers to share their experiences with us. We take all comments and suggestions seriously so please contact us to let us know about your experience here and please read about the experiences of other recent Runde customers below. Be sure to contact us if you have any questions. We can be contacted at 866-735-5200.   This is the second Avalanche I have purchased from Runde’s and can see [...]

If you are in touch with our blog you will remember a post about Jay Leno owning the first ZR1 Corvette. In the video (below) you can see Jay absolutely raving the marvelous machine. Hearing so much praise about a car from someone who knows a lot about the automotive world really stamps “this car must really be something special” in your head. It was just another cold winter day, the office was pretty warm and I was finishing up some routine tasks when I faintly heard “Hey did you see that ZR1 out there” from the hallway. “Huh?” I wondered to myself… “a ZR1? did they mean Z06?… it couldn’t be…” Dashing outside I saw several figures surrounding a vehicle – none of them were moving. As I came closer, it seemed [...]

The Detroit Auto Show was an exciting time for auto enthusiasts and there were lots of exciting models on display including the 2012 Ford Focus.  What’s even more exciting is the fact that the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid was revealed as the Car of the Year! And what’s more for Ford? Well… the Ford Transit Connect won Truck of the Year at the Auto Show as well! “Winning both of these prestigious awards is confirmation that the ONE Ford plan is working:  delivering industry-leading products for our customers,” said Mark Fields, President of Ford’s Americas division.     Prestigious indeed. Winning these awards is no easy task as the competition was fierce in ’09. But Ford doesn’t miss a step as it continues to look into new innovations and features to incorporate into their vehicles. So what’s the latest and greatest for Ford? Check out the newly announced 2012 Ford Focus that should show up on [...]

It seems there is almost no limit to what a person can do on a ipod these days and it begs the question, “What will technology bring and how advanced will cell phones become in the near future?”  From playing games, to converting practically any measurement you need at the click of a button. The new spawn of smart phones and gadgets are, needless to say, impressive. ‘But what is next?’ you may be asking yourself as you scroll through the thousands and thousands of apps available from the Apple and Verizon store. Well, I have the answer for you, and is it oh-soooo-sweet. Imagine waking up mid-winter to start your day. It’s so cold outside, the last thing you look forward to is feeling your freezing hair rub against [...]

One of the Runde Mascot Monkeys escaped and turned up at the Orange Bowl in Miami last night just in time to see the Iowa Hawkeyes football team finish up their 11-2 season by beating Georgia Tech 24-14.  He flew back today and described the game to all of us who caught the game on television.  Don’t worry Wisconsin and Illini football fans — you’ll have another shot at the Hawks next fall!!!  

Marty Frank is first and foremost a Cubs fan.  He’s also one of the truly dedicated worker who spends his days prepping and cleaning all of the new vehicles that drive off the Runde Chevrolet lot here in East Dubuque. We interrupted Marty’s work for a few minutes to have him answer a couple of our questions. RAC: What do you do here at Runde’s?   MF: I work in the wash rack cleaning up all of the new cars, keeping Lenny out of trouble, and trying to convert him to being a Cubs fan. How long have you worked here? Three years and still going. What is your favorite part about working here? Any time they bring in pizza for us or put together potluck dinners and that kind of stuff, the food is just so good. Are you originally from the area? Yeah, but I moved here from Santa Cruz, CA when I [...]

John Riley, who manages our Chevy Sales Department, received the following email message from the husband of Kathie Thor this week.  Hi John: Here’s a few photos for your scrap book. Thanks for all your help with Kathie’s Christmas Surprise. She had no idea I had made a deal with you for a new vehicle. There was a lot of excitement at the Thor household Christmas morning. Thanks again, Randy Randy Thor of Cuba City, WI surprised his better half, Kathie Thor, with a sophisticated new set of wheels.  He grabbed some quick photos of Kathie beside her new ride (my guess is that he didn’t have to ask her to smile).  Kathie was completely caught off guard by the new Chevy Equinox that was waiting for her at home and the Thor’s had a very Merry X-Mas.  [...]

Here are some of the New Year’s resolutions our employees and customers at Runde Chevrolet set for themselves. Let’s hope they follow through. I know how hard it is to keep those new year’s resolutions… Chocolate is too delicious for me to vow to eat it in moderation…  

We sat down for a few minutes and did a customer interview with Dan Schaefer from Dubuque, IA.   Dan serves in the Air Force and is now the proud owner of a Chevy Malibu and he bought the car from Runde PreDriven while he was on paid leave from his base in Texas! Enjoy the video!  

Below are videos that document a horrible car crash involving a pregnant woman who is very lucky to be alive today.  If you need more examples there are several other videos you can look up. The point is simple: pregnant women get into accidents too.  It’s something that we don’t really want to hear about, but it happens.  In 2008, over 27,000 pregnant women were killed in automobile accidents. In fact, statistics show that automobile accidents are the largest cause of pregnant fatalities. What is more terrifying than thinking of your unborn baby going through an accident? As far as safety goes, the major focus has always been on infant safety and child seats while the specific safety needs of expecting mothers was perhaps overlooked a bit. That is starting to change, however, as the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM), a group of 11 car companies including GM, Ford and Chrysler, has recently taken interest [...]

One of the luckiest 19-year-olds participated and won big on the Price is Right. Why so lucky you ask? Well if winning a scooter, a trip to Boston and a bunch of money wasn’t enough… How ’bout a new Ford Mustang for a dollar?   Perhaps this strikes some jealousy… or perhaps I’m just expressing my inner emotion… Either way everyone must give Taylor BIG credit for guessing the last two numbers spot on when it really counted — probably one of the biggest moments on the show, since Drew Carey’s take over from Bob Barker. Here at Runde’s we may not be giving away a new Ford Mustang for a dollar, but I guarantee that you will think the Price is Right at Runde Auto Group!

Customers often come in after Christmas and ask our Runde Chevrolet Sales Staff how their Christmas celebration was or what they did during the holidays.  Well you don’t have to wonder what our Salesmen did this year.  This year our sales staff put in a lot of extra rehearsal hours during the holidays trying to get this Christmas dance just right and we shot this video on location up at the North Pole.   We hope everyone out there has a safe & happy holiday season!!!

It’s that time of year again … time to celebrate the season and spread the holiday spirit.  Every once in a while I find myself wanting to give more to those who need it. Often there are times when I don’t know where to begin in terms of which charity organization to give my donations to. This year, however, we got the chance to interview Charlie Becker, Director of Camp Courageous in Monticello, IA. After the interview I found that I really appreciate what the camp does and wanted to help. The camp runs on donations, with no government funding, no formal sponsorship and no one paid to raise money for the camp. They run through the generosity of donations given by people and companies. Please view the video below [...]

We would like to end our Raising awareness series with Hillcrest Family Services. This versatile non-profit organization has many different departments.  The various branches of Hillcrest are divided by age groups, gender, and specific needs of the children.  Hillcrest has helped countless kids as they mature into outstanding individuals. However, there is always a need for volunteers, especially in the role of a big brother big sister to one of the kids. If you would like to help out the kids please read on to learn more and to see how to volunteer. Hillcrest Family Services John Bellini, director of residential education, spoke with us about how Hillcrest helps youth grasp a rich and successful education.