Manchester customer Deona Kelchen was sitting in our waiting room today, so I sat down and talked to her for a few minutes about her vehicle and her experience with Runde. She was a very pleasant lady, and was interesting to talk to! She lives outside of Manchester in the country. She recently returned from Arkansas, visiting her son. Runde Auto Chat: What kind of vehicle are you having serviced? Is it just a routine service appointment? Deona Kelchen: It’s a Dodge Stratus – It just needed an oil change. Runde Auto Chat: Did you buy the vehicle at Runde Auto Group of Manchester? Deona Kelchen: Yes I did RAC: Is there any feature it has that you really like? DK: It starts when it is supposed to. (Ha!) RAC: [...]

Ford is planning the world debut of the all-new 2010 Ford Fusion for November, at the Los Angeles International Auto Show in November. There will be five models of the Fusion, making it customizable to any consumer’s needs.A 2.5L 4-cylinder is available in the base model. The 172 horsepower engine is expected to have more power than the Toyota Camry, and outdo the Camry and the Honda Accord in fuel economy.The midlevel Fusion is powered by a 3.0L V-6. This engine is capable of 240 horsepower (250 hp with E85). Ford is also working on a fuel shut-off system for deceleration.The Ford Fusion Sport runs on a 3.5L Duratec V-6 (also found in the new Ford Flex) that also adds 240 horsepower. The all-new Fusion Hybrid is just around the corner. It can run on [...]

Thousands of people experienced the Dubuque Halloween Parade last night. So many people that came out to join in the festivities. The organizers of the parade probably would have liked a little warmer weather and a little less wind, but they couldn’t have asked for a better turn-out.  Jeff Kueter from the Runde Reconditioning Department [...]

Francie Fortman is one of our main car runners from Manchester. He travels to pick up vehicles traded between Runde’s and other dealers.  He also shuttles vehicles from the Manchester Ford location to East Dubuque and Hazel Green, and stops in to pleasantly harass all of us with his contagious smile before he leaves again.  Runde Auto Chat: What is the farthest trip you have taken for a dealer trade? Francie Fortman: Working for Runde’s, I once went 1,100 miles roundtrip to Fargo, North Dakota to trade a Trailblazer for another Trailblazer. I also had to go to Detroit on a couple occasions. RAC: What is the most interesting thing you’ve seen on your trips? FF: The traffic on 494 in Minneapolis at 5:00 pm. (For some of us, it’s the reason we live here instead of the big city!) RAC: What is the best place you’ve eaten while on the road? FF: I try [...]

The results of the U.S. Global Quality Research System (GQRS) study revealed that Ford is now the best in the industry for customer satisfaction in the 2008 model year. The survey was conducted by RDA Group in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and is composed of survey statistics from owners of all major makes and models after owning them for at least 3 months.  Ford lowered their “things gone wrong” (TGW) rating by 7.7% (reduced by 108 TGW) compared to last year, and are statistically even with Honda and Toyota.  From 2004 to 2008, Ford has improved their vehicle quality by a total of 33%.  Customer satisfaction reached 77%, which is the highest in history.   The Ford Focus has caught up to the Toyota Corolla, leading the compact cars category.    Overall, 18 of 24 Ford domestic brand vehicles improved in their TGW count, and they are striving to continue the trend. They have improved [...]

I talked to Jessica Paulson who is a loyal Runde customer from Belmont, Wisconsin for a few minutes this afternoon while her vehicle was being serviced. She had the day off today, and was happy about the well-deserved break. Runde Auto Chat: What kind of vehicle are you having serviced? Is it a routine appointment? Jessica Paulson: I have a Chevy Tahoe; It just needs an oil change and tire rotation. RAC: Did you buy the Tahoe from us? JP: Yes, we did. RAC: Have you bought other vehicles from us? JP: We recently bought a Chevy Silverado Crew Cab. RAC: What is your favorite thing about Runde’s and how they do business? JP: They take excellent care of their vehicles, [...]

Daniel’s Lounge is located in Kieler next to Midwest Motor Sports in Kieler, Wisconsin. They are famous for their daily specials, and for the racing fans out there, $1.00 beers at Cautions. Today’s special was roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a dinner roll. Since I am not a huge fan of roast beef, I had a burger and french fries. They were the really crispy, seasoned fries, which are my favorite. The burger was expertly cooked and still had a lot of the natural juices still inside as I took my first bite.  It was extremely reasonable for the size of it;  Daniel’s definitely doesn’t skimp on the portions. [...]

What is the Dubuque food pack program and how can a local business get involved to help young local students in our community? Sometimes we get so caught up in what is happening with our country in terms of international interaction, we forget all of the obstacles our own people face. There are many less fortunate people in our country, and they tend to get overlooked a lot of the time. For once, they are the focus of a local project here in the Dubuque area. John Deere Dubuque Works funded a food pack program for 250 students in the Dubuque elementary schools. Each school anonymously placed the food packs in their 50 neediest children’s backpacks before they went home on Friday afternoon, so the children have a better chance of eating nutritional food over the weekend.

This week’s sales staff introduction is of the Runde Cuba City Buick store. They may be small in numbers, but these guys carry an abundance of information and ready and eager to answer any questions you may have!!   Cuba City Sales Professionals     Al has worked for Runde Auto Group for about 6 years, but prior to that he worked with his father at Dellabella Motors for about 30 years. His wife, Deb, also works for us, running parts and vehicles from store to store. They have 2 children and 2 grandchildren. Al enjoys gardening and music. He plays the harmonica, cjello, and acoustic guitar. He’s a Packers fan…go figure. If you’re ever in the Cuba City area, you’ll probably see him driving around in his Chevrolet S-10 pickup.             John has also worked for Runde’s for about [...]

What do you think of when you hear the phrase, “I’m going to lunch”?   If you immediately think of a 4000 mile round trip to a burger joint, then you’re not alone.  Many of us leave the office for our half hour or hour long lunch breaks, which is usually acceptable. I frequently drive 5 blocks home to eat lunch and let my dogs out. An Assistant Editor in Ann Arbor, Michigan had a different idea for his lunch.  Sam Smith’s Thursday started out as a fairly normal day. He was at work, and all of a sudden, he decides he needs a burger. Ok, fine, Ann Arbor probably has about 50 different burger joints to choose from, except he needs a specific burger…from a West Coast ONLY restaurant chain, In-N-Out Burger. From Ann Arbor, the closest location is in Prescott, Arizona, approximately 1900 miles away. He decided to call his buddy from [...]

Kelly Francois and her 7-month old son Cole visited Runde Chevrolet in East Dubuque today.  Kelly is very familiar to most of us here at Runde’s because she used to work here for nearly 2 years.  She now works at Dubuque Data Services as an administrative assistant and she’s doing very well for herself.  Kelly enjoys stopping by the dealership every once in awhile, but this is one visit that she would have forgone if she’d had her druthers.  You see Kelly’s boyfriend, Mike, was backing up her car and backed over a metal fire pit.   So Kelly came in and had Mike Runde write up a bodyshop estimate for the repairs.  We sat down and chatted with Kelly and Cole while they waited for the write-up. Runde Auto Chat:  What happened to your car? Kelly Francois:  A fire pit jumped up and bit the back bumper of my car. RAC:  What kind of car do you drive? KF:  A [...]

Clarion Wick, a recent customer of Runde Chevrolet in East Dubuque, gave me a few minutes of his time while he waited for his truck to be ready to go. I think he must have a thing for red…this is his 3rd red truck in a row. RAC: What did you like most about the process and how business was conducted here at Runde? CW: It was really good. The purchase was quick, and very low pressure. RAC: What kind of vehicle did you buy? Were there any options or features that you were specifically looking for? CW: I bought a Chevy Silverado 1500 Extended Cab; I was especially excited about the Warranty — 5 year/100,000 mile RAC: What purpose is this vehicle going to serve: business/family, etc.? CW: Mostly family RAC: Do you have any children or grandchildren? CW: 5 kids and 3 grandchildren RAC: Where do you live, and what do you do [...]

As much as we hate to admit it, winter is around the corner, which means very cold weather and lots of snow (especially in Runde country). Have you thought about what you need to do to winterize your vehicle? There is a lot more to it than most people think. I have compiled a checklist for you to use. Bad winter road conditions can sneak up on us if we aren’t careful, so start thinking about it early!   To Do List Before Winter Comes!   Make sure your brakes are equalized and not pulling to one side. Flush out your cooling system and put anti-freeze in. Check containers, belts, hoses, pressure caps, and thermostat. Make sure battery connections are clean and tight. Check your engine for faulty wiring, worn out spark plugs, sticking choke or emission control devices. These make it difficult for your vehicle to start. Check the [...]

For anyone who hasn’t taken a close look at the Buick Lucerne, this article is for you.  New technology has been a big part of vehicle purchases in the last decade, and Buick stood up to the challenge when they designed their Lucerne. How many accidents occur due to blind spots or lack of visibility? Drivers are 3 times more likely to have an accident changing lanes than they are if they stay in one lane. The engineers at Buick understood this concept, and added a solution to the Lucerne. The Side Blind Zone Alert system is set up to notify the driver of a vehicle in their blind spot. You are driving down the interstate and want to pass a slow-moving tractor (in our case here in the Midwest), and you put [...]

The Chevy Aveo is #1 car on the market in terms of lowest total ownership costs.  When one thinks of hybrid vehicles, the first thing that comes to mind is fuel efficiency. Though the concept is great, are the savings in fuel going to outweigh the overall price of the hybrid? Edmunds.com ran this exact study in attempt to find the long-run cost of owning a hybrid car as opposed to a normal gas-powered compact or subcompact car. They then created a list of ‘top tens’ to see where the hybrids ranked in the group. Ownership costs should include depreciation, financing, taxes, fees, insurance premiums, maintenance, repairs, and fuel costs. Edmunds figured all of their numbers on a five-year ownership plan, and assumed fuel prices of $4.06, $5.00, and $6.00 per gallon. [...]

If you’re a television buff, you’ll have to pay close attention this fall as Ford goes Hollywood.   As the new seasons of America’s hottest TV shows quickly approach, Ford Motor Company is feeling much anticipation of Ford’s small screen debut. This year, Ford vehicles are featured in one of the most-watched dramas on television, “Desperate Housewives”, as well as new series’ “Fringe” and “Knight Rider”.   Wisteria Lane has become one of the most famous street names on television, and this year it will extend it’s popularity to the newest crossover of the Ford family…the Flex. Tom Scavo, Lynette’s husband, will be cruising around the suburbs in the 2009 Flex in this season. Bob Witter of Ford Global Brand Entertainment said, “A lot of people drive a car because it’s an extension of their personality, and in the world of Hollywood, that’s one of the ways that they develop characters. We work together with [...]

When customers begin looking for a new car, and a salesman mentions a ‘program car’ or rental, it has traditionally sent a red flag into their minds. But there are a lot of things most people don’t know about program cars. Sure, about 90% of them were rental cars, but rental cars are not beat on like some people stereotypically like to think. The rental companies actually maintain them better than some private owners. They always have their oil changed on time because the rental companies keep track of the odometer readings like clockwork.  Rental vehicles also come from southern states like California, Florida, or Arizona most of the time, so they do not have the hard winters and salty roads wearing on the paint. Did you know when you are considering purchasing a program [...]

Our Manchester location, Runde Ford has received it’s first Ford Flex crossover! Our Flex SEL is a Front-Wheel-Drive 3.5L V6 automatic. It has leather trimmed bucket seats, power driver seat, and keyless entry. It also has Sirius Radio and Microsoft’s Sync Multimedia Handsfree Bluetooth software installed, which allows the driver to say an artist’s name or song title and it will play it from an MP3 player automatically. The Ford Flex also provides the capacity to talk on a blue tooth cell phone without even touching it. It will dial using voice commands, and will automatically connect to a current phone call as soon as the vehicle is started. It can also connect to up to 12 phones, so if your spouse has the vehicle that day, it will recognize his/her phone as well. Check out the Flex Video Walk-Around!   Please contact the Runde Ford sales staff at [...]

As summer winds down and baseball teams begin eliminating each other from the playoffs, we gear up for another exciting season of college football. Opening weekend did not bring as many upsets as last year, but there were some great games and a lot of eager fans this past Saturday. Tailgaters were in rare form at the University of Iowa’s opener against Maine. Everyone was excited to be back with their ‘fall family’ at Kinnick. Since football tends to take up a lot of our weekends, I thought I would find out what the Runde staff thinks about their favorite teams’ chances this year. It took quite a while to find someone in the office who wasn’t a Hawkeye fan, and that was the first time in my life I was complaining about that.    John Leibfried, a Sales Professional at our Buick Cuba City location, predicts that the Badgers will be [...]

Future teen drivers wait in anticipation for the day they turn 16 and can get their driver’s license, while parents grimace at the thought of their children growing up and going off on their own in their first car.  National statistics show demonstrate that teenagers are involved in wrecks 9 times as often than adults. Teens also tend to not wear their seatbelts without parents in the vehicle. American Family Insurance was fully aware of the anxiety caused by teenage drivers, and developed a program called Teen Safe Driver that allows parents some relief. American Family Insurance provides a camera that’s placed by the rearview mirror on the inside of the car. The camera provides two streaming images 1) an image of inside the car and 2) an image of [...]

Most baseball fans know of the movie, “The Field of Dreams.” But for those of us from Iowa, it’s more than just a movie. It’s home, it’s reality, and it lights a fire within us when we think of all the history that was made on that very spot of ground. It’s hard to believe that it was made about 35 years ago.  Parts of the movie were shot in Dubuque and other parts were shot out on the East Coast, but the majority of it was filmed in Dyersville, IA.  Where is Dyersville you ask???  Well it’s about midway between Runde Chevrolet in East Dubuque, IL and Runde Ford of Manchester, IA. –about 10 minutes north of US Hwy 20. The field lies on the Lansing family farm.   The corn is still growing, the house still stands in the same place it did 100 years ago. The movie was released in 1989, starring the ‘Tin Cup’ himself, [...]

What is the most scenic view that you’ve experienced in the Dubuque area? Today began as a pretty normal day at work, until my boss sent me to take pictures without telling me what exactly I was trying to find. He drew me a map, and sent me on my way. Most people can agree that when you have no idea what you’re looking for, you tend to be a little leery. I got to my destination, and realized it was an amazing landscape of Dubuque staring me in the face. He told me when I got back that lived in Dubuque for 18 years before he found out about this place and the view, and he knows other people who have lived here their whole lives who have never been to this spot either. It overlooks the Mississippi River, you can see for miles, and it also [...]

We took a moment to sit down and talk with Mary Jane Baxter, a member of our Runde Buick staff. Here is what she had to say about working at Runde. Runde Auto Group: What does your job entail at Runde Auto Group in Cuba City and how long have you been with them? Mary Jane Baxter: I handle financing, accounting, filing, answering phones, and any other day-to-day tasks that need to be done. I have been with Runde for approximately 27 years.  Runde Auto Group: What do you like most about working at Runde? MJB: I enjoy the environment and the people I work with every day. We have a lot of fun and work well together. Runde Auto Group: If you could drive any car for a month, [...]

Meet the Jeep Patriot!  It’s the newest addition to the Jeep family that already consists of rugged, high-quality vehicles like the Wrangler and the Grand Cherokee. The Patriot was recently voted as the Least Expensive SUV To Own by Edmunds.com What can be better than combining the quality of Jeep with the Lifetime Limited Powertrain Warranty? How about lower price and more options? The Jeep Patriot Limited comes fully equipped with leather interior, heated front seats, power moonroof, Sirius satellite radio, iPod auxiliary jack, Excellent Crash Test Ratings, and between 22 and 28 Miles Per Gallon on the highway*. *Trim and specs will effect fuel efficiency.   Take a look at my Jeep Patriot Walk-Around video!

It’s always nice to talk to our fantastic customers while they’re waiting on their vehicles to get serviced.  I sat and talked with Tony Fritz for a few minutes in our Chevy store, and he had nothing but good things to say about us…(we like hearing that!!) Runde Auto Chat: What kind of vehicle are you having serviced? Is it just a routine service appointment? Tony Fritz: I brought my Chevrolet Impala in for an oil change and tire rotation. RAC: Did you buy your Chevy Impala from Runde’s? TF: Yes RAC: Is there any feature it has that you will look for on your next vehicle purchase? TF: No, it’s a pretty standard package. RAC: Have you bought other vehicles from us? TF: Yes, probably 3 or 4. RAC: What is your favorite thing about Runde and how they do business? TF: They have straight-forward prices and the salesmen don’t pressure you. RAC: Do [...]