Major automakers are funneling millions of dollars into building electric vehicles and an infrastructure to charge them, but many drivers are still hesitant to make the switch from the traditional gas-powered vehicles they have driven all their lives to a battery-powered ride. They have questions about range, charging, and driving long distances, as well as confusion about EV concepts like regen paddles, one-pedal driving, and more. Who better to ask these questions, than electric vehicle owners themselves? In this series, we will be sharing the experiences of Runde customers who have made the transition to being an EV owner. Meet Jacob Puls, of East Dubuque, who recently leased his first electric vehicle, a 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV. As a salesperson at Runde Chevrolet, Jacob has sold his fair share of electric vehicles, but had yet to own one. “In all honesty, I talked my brother into it (his twin brother is Jared Puls, whose EV story [...]

Major automakers are funneling millions of dollars into building electric vehicles and an infrastructure to charge them. But many drivers are still hesitant to make the switch from the traditional gas-powered vehicles they have driven all their lives to a battery-powered ride. They have questions about range, charging, and driving long distances, as well as confusion about EV concepts like regen paddles, one-pedal driving, and more. Who better to ask these questions, than electric vehicle owners themselves? In this series, we will be sharing the experiences of Runde customers who have made the transition to an EV. Meet Jared Puls, of East Dubuque, who bought his first-ever electric vehicle a few months ago when he joined [...]

It’s one thing to call something a “family vehicle,” but it’s another to prove it. The Chevrolet Equinox was named to the Cars.com 2020 Car Seat Check Honor Roll, which recognizes it as being one of the best new cars for car seats! PLUS, it was awarded a 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score for safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That means it makes parents’ jobs easier and keeps kids safer – exactly what a family vehicle should do. The ever-popular SUV seats up to five people and gets 31 miles per gallon highway (26 mpg city). It has available all-wheel drive for those Midwest winters and tons of safety options, including: • Standard rear-vision camera • Available adaptive cruise control • Available rear cross [...]

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 [...]

Indy fans get ready because the 2014 Chevrolet C7 Vette Stingray has been selected as the official pace car for this year’s Indianapolis 500. This will mark the 12th time the Corvette model has served as pace car for the grand-daddy of all races … and how appropriate since the Corvette is essentially a race car that’s designed for urban streets.  The exterior color for the pace car will be Laguna Blue Tintcoat and there will be no exterior mods to the car. Jim Campbell, GM’s VP of performance vehicles had this to say about the selection, “It is an honor to help inaugurate the all-new C7 Vette y at the hallowed Brickyard and further the legacy between Chevrolet and the Indianapolis 500. The 2014 Corvette Stingray’s performance was influenced by racing, making this prestigious [...]

Amanda Elston from Ossian Iowa loves to help animals. As a mobile veterinarian she needs a reliable truck to hold all of her medicine and equipment. Despite a two hour trip to get to here, Amanda knew that she would find what she was looking for at Runde Auto Group. And we asked her to reflect on her pleasant experience. Where are you from? I’m from Ossian Iowa It’s just South of Decorah, IA. It’s about a three hour drive. My boss and I made the trip. What led you to Runde’s? I’m a veterinarian and I needed a truck for work. I needed a 3/4 ton regular cab, long box truck which was actually really hard to find, but you guys had four or five of them here. Runde’s had the a great selection and options we were looking for so we decided to make the long trip to go here to get [...]

How can you mention Michael Jordan and the Chevy Volt in the same sentence?  Isn’t that basketball sacrilege?  Well, let me explain.  I was reading an article from CNN Money that was saying the new Chevy Volt didn’t rank as one of the top ten “greenest” cars in America.  Now based on all that I have learned about the Volt so far, I found this very hard to believe.  The Volt is primarily an electric car that can travel for about 40 miles on just the power produced from the lithium ion battery pack following a 10 hour overnight charge from a regular 110V outlet (or 4 hours from an installed Voltec 240V charger). I just don’t understand why the CNN Money article and other articles [...]

If you’ve ever wondered how many miles per gallon the Chevy Cruze Eco gets, well then you’re in the right place as we’re attempting to try to answer that question today.  Over the past few years, the EPA has made changes to the way they test the fuel efficiency of vehicles.  They’ve tried to make their testing more accurate by putting the cars and trucks on “real world” road ways instead of the traditional track testing that they used to do.  Here at Runde’s, our sales associates field questions daily from customers who want to know what type of mileage all types of vehicles get … not just the Cruze Eco.   To be completely honest, it always comes down to what type of driving the customer does, where they live, and [...]

The king of late-night, Jay Leno, is adding yet another vehicle to his QUITE expansive car collection. You guessed it … it’s the Chevrolet Volt. Jay  is so impressed by the Volt that he is putting aside his 55 Buick Roadmaster to make the Volt his daily driver. Jay Comments on how he thinks the Volt is part of the future and that the Toyota Prius, while having had a head start (in the fuel economy race) is old technology. Another thing he mentions, which I believe is the biggest benefit of the Volt over the competition is that it uses gasoline when the electric juice runs out. So you picked up a Nissan Leaf, an all-electric car which the EPA just announced will last [...]

One of our relatively recent additions to the Runde team is Mariah Diedrich. We just about caused mass mayhem by dragging her away from her phone, but Mariah gladly took a few moments to allow us to get to know her a little better. How long have you worked for Runde’s and what  do you do here? Um, it’ll be going on a year.  I can’t remember if I was hired in August or September.  I work in the accounting department and do accounts payable. What’s the best thing about your job? The people I work with.  Except for Becky.   We understand.  What is the worst thing about your job? Being interviewed by those annoying blog people.  Just kidding … I’d probably have to say Becky. Do you have a favorite spot in the Tri-State area? I live in Shullsburg about 40 minutes away in Wisconsin, so it’s like [...]

If you follow the Runde Blog, you may recall a story that we ran back in the spring of this year about Mardy Gilyard, who purchased a new 2010 Camaro SS from Runde Chevrolet.  At that time, he had finished up at the University of Cincinnati, where he starred as a wide receiver and kick returner.  He was on his way to the NFL Draft Combine where he would show NFL scouts just what he was made of.   Everyone in Cincinnati and his home state of Florida already knew that Mardy was a world-class athlete and at the NFL Combine (an invite-only event) back in February, he put his talent on display for the rest of the world to see.   The St. Louis Rams took particular notice of him and, after they took Sam Bradford as the [...]

TESTIMONIALS FROM RUNDE’S CUSTOMERS We are very very pleased with our Chevy Traverse that we recently purchased from Runde Auto Group. It is by far one of the most comfortable vehicles I have ever driven. We have been on 3 road trips and love how it handles the road!! Sure hope this Traverse lasts us a long time! We love it!!!! Thank you for making it possible when we came to see you!! I also want you to know how impressed we are with Runde’s! Awesome people and awesome service! Keep it up! Take care! Paul and Ellen S. of Dubuque, IA We still have the Jeep Commander and all is well with it. Best vehicle and experience we’ve [...]

Ed Whitacre, the CEO of General Motors, announced that GM has paid back all of the borrowed money in full to the government with interest. This gigantic announcement demonstrates a level of confidence within the company that has surfaced mainly due to a slimmed down product line, a more refined company focus, and exciting new products like the Chevy Equinox, the Chevy Camaro, and the Buick LaCrosse that are selling almost as quickly as they arrive on dealers’ lots. With this move, they are basically saying that they wholeheartedly believe GM is now on the right track to profitability. And here at Runde Auto Group, we know without-a-doubt that GM is back on track and ready for the road ahead. The tank is full, the engine is humming, and the GPS is set … Destination … Success.  It’s full speed ahead for Chevrolet, Buick and GMC.  

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 [...]

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.

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.  [...]

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!!!

Here’s what some recent customers of Runde Auto Group has to say about their experiences at Runde Auto Group – a dealership located near Dubuque. We had shopped around a lot for a vehicle.  Of all the dealerships we visited, Runde Chevrolet treated us the best and worked the hardest for us.  I have already recommended this dealership to other people.  Runde was a very pleasant experience for purchasing a car. The whole time was very professional, caring and easy people to work with through the whole process. Steve Kness – Pearl City, IL   First class operation.  Enjoy doing business with them in all departments. John Roeder – Roeder Implement Inc. – Dubuque, IA    I am very pleased with my purchase from Runde Chevrolet. Gary Bonnet [...]

For those of you who think that social media is just a fad that will disappear in the years to come, well … uhhh … you might have another thing coming.  In the car business you often get a mixture of old school thought vs. new school.   Yesterday, this really seemed really apparent when we asked one of our senior salesmen to help provide us with a customer of his that we could interview for the blog.  His response was: “No.  Actually, I can’t wait ’til that thing (the blog) goes away.”  In the past couple years, social media has become what it is and at Runde’s we have tried to embrace it for the positive.  We run a good business and word of mouth has always been one of the cheapest and best forms of advertising.  So we figure, we’ll interview customers and ask them what they thought of their experience at Runde’s.  It’s [...]

Aside from the 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 and the very first 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 ever made, Jay Leno has lots of toys that do things that you probably never even thought were possible … especially his new 3D scanner. What if I told you that I could clone almost any object under the size of about a yard? Better yet, what if I told you that I could, without any sort of assembly, make the cloned object fully functional as soon as I cloned it? “Bust out the straight-jacket and lock him away?” you say?  Well, FYI, all of this is possible and is actually happening at Jay Leno’s garage. Jay has this nifty little scanner called a Faro 3D Scanner which will scan an object based on thousands of points and create a 3D model of it on your computer. From there, the Dimension 3D Printer takes the image data given to it by the scan [...]

We were outside and Carl got out of his old truck… Unlike most people, however, Carl didn’t go running to his New Ride from Runde Chevrolet in excitement. Instead Carl slowly got out of the driver’s door and gave the truck a sentimental final farewell before heading into the Runde Chevrolet building to finish up the paperwork. I was particularly busy before the interview with Carl Denlinger who was with his mother, Louise Denlinger (both born and raised south of Dubuque) but our chat seemed to put me in a great mood, read on to find see why. Hey guys, while your salesman, finishes up the transaction would you mind sharing your experience at Runde’s with the rest of the world? Sure… and [...]

Here is just a sample of how a few recent customers perceive Runde Auto Group.  Check out these Customer Testimonials …   “All employees were very friendly and willing to help.  We were very much pleased with our experience with Runde.” John Mitchell Dubuque, IA   “I purchased a Chevy Colorado from Alan Kloft,  I’ve needed it repaired twice since the purchase.  Both times I have dealt with Pat Timmerman… All I can say about the sale and service experiences is AWESOME!  You guys are GREAT!  Thanks!”  Dave Fangman Dubuque, IA   “I’ve been buying trucks from you guys for eight or ten years.  I don’t do this very often but this is an exception. I just wanted to say that you guys went above and beyond the call of duty while servicing my truck. I had a truck that needed a scratch taken out. When I came in with it [...]

The all new Equinox SUV’s have landed here at Runde’s and they’ve received nothing but great reviews so far. With room to spare, power to go, great gas mileage, and a sleek and appealing design … the all new Equinox is the vehicle to have whether you have a family or just desire a nice ride that will hold a lot of stuff. It will easily store your strollers, bikes and coolers full of food for your trip out to Noah’s Ark this summer. Check out the walk-around below to get up close and personal with the all new Equinox:     If you want more information about how the new Equinox can help you and your family get the most out of a vehicle this summer, give us a call at 866-735-5200 and we will be more than happy to answer any and all questions you may have.  And if you’re looking to [...]

According to the title, this blog post is about fuel cell vehicles.  Not sure what they are?  Ok.  Fine, then let’s start with a conversational detour. Ever wish someone would walk up to you and hand you the keys to a new vehicle? The closest I’ve ever come to hearing about something like this, I previously mentioned when I wrote the anecdote about Doug in our Field of Dreams blog post last year. There’s also that scene from Pay it Forward, where some guy hands Jay Mohr the keys to his new Jaguar S-Type car in an effort to … you guessed it … pay it forward. I was looking at GM’s Project Driveway a little today and I checked it out to see if I might qualify to drive a new state-of-the-art Chevy Equinox fuel cell vehicle. Project Driveway is the first large-scale market test of fuel cell vehicles with real drivers in [...]