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.  

Goog411 is definitely the new rage We used to have a trainer from GM that would go around to various dealerships in the area and teach the salespeople how to do better vehicle walk-arounds and essentially sell more cars in the process.  Every time he was on the verge of touching on a unique feature of a car, he would foreshadow it with the phrase, “OK, now I’m going to put some money in your pocket.”  This usually meant that the car had a unique key feature that no other competitor had on their vehicles and it was going to help you sell more cars and thus — the money in the pocket thing. Now I’m going to put some money in your pocket.  Are you sick of getting charged beaucoup $$$ every time you dial 411 or Directory Assistance to get a phone number when you’re on the go.  Not everyone has [...]

I was up at the Runde PreDriven store the other day and I was informed by one of the salesmen that Sammy Hagar was in the house. I thought, ”What an opportunity … we can get a interview with Sammy for the blog … I wonder what he’s looking to purchase?  A Camaro?  A Vette?” I asked where he was.   Chris pointed to Johnny Kramer, who works up at that store and was sportin’ a new hairdo.  It wasn’t the actual Red Rocker, but it was an uncanny resemblance. I took some quick photos of Johnny … errr, I mean Sammy Hagar (You may recall that Johnny was featured previous in a Runde Auto Chat interview back in 2009) and then I went about my business.  A few minutes later there was a big [...]

A BIG surprise named Magnum the Mastiff visited Runde Chevrolet the other day. A beautiful Mastiff was sitting with his owner, Jesse Coulson, who was in for some service on his Chevy Colorado. Wow Jesse, that is a huge dog! How old is he? He’s 22 months old. He weighs close to 180lbs currently, I expect him to grow to around 200lbs. He’s a Mastiff right? Pretty nice dogs from what I hear.  He seems very attentive – probably a good bird watcher. They are called “Gentle Giants” and that is very true of Magnum. One time our family went on a vacation and Magnum was distressed because all of his family was gone for a few days. He’s very close to the family. What does Magnum the Mastiff eat? His favorite food is string cheese. They grow up so fast so it’s good to get them cheese for calcium. He eats close [...]

Has anyone considered purchasing a Ford Fiesta yet?  Looking to get a great gas mileage car without putting a dent in your style or wallet? You have probably considered the Chevy Sonic or the Chevy Spark, but if you wait for the Ford Fiesta you will not be disappointed. I was very skeptical of the car at first. I’m 6’1″ with a big build and found these little gas-mileage cars “cramping” my style. But I went to the Chicago Auto Show and experienced the Fiesta first hand and I must say I’m impressed. The car, in my opinion, looks fantastic from the outside but what really took my breath away was the interior – QUALITY. Seriously, for a vehicle that starts around $13.5k and ends well under $20k although it felt like $30k [...]

I had to grab some footage of the Suzuki Makai. It looks like it automatically takes you to the beach as soon as you sit in it. Something you probably won’t be seeing around the Tri-States, to say the least, but very cool! The Makai is based on the Suzuki SX4 and I’m pretty sure it’s targeted towards people that don’t live anywhere near here. The Suzuki Kizashi, with it’s four-wheel drive and powerful engine, however, is right up our alley!    

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.  [...]

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!       [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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!  

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!!!

Happy Holidays  Note: No one at Runde Auto Group was harmed during the making of this video.  Hopefully your ears won’t be harmed by our “not-so-harmonious” voices as you view it. Our intention is merely to wish you a happy holidays in hopes that this holiday season will be your best one yet!

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 [...]

Recently we got to interview Chuck Webster who came in to purchase a Malibu. Chuck was excited to give his wife the Malibu as special little gift. Hello Chuck, thank you for doing the interview with us. We hope your experience with Runde’s was great. Oh yes it was. How was he? Fantastic. We actually used to be neighbors in Chicago for years and didn’t even know it!  We lived about two blocks away from each other in Lincoln Park. Where is the first place you’ll take your car? I’m going to drive it to Washington D.C. to give it to my wife. It is a two-day drive, but it’s worth it. Is she excited to get the car? Oh, yeah, funny story, actually. She [...]

Mike Lawler worked for Runde’s full-time while he went to East Dubuque high school.  After graduating, Mike went off to college, but he still comes back to work here when he comes back home.  While Mike was here for the Thanksgiving weekend, we took a few minutes to chat with him and find out what college life is like. RAC: Where are you going to college? ML: Western Illinois University — It’s about two and a half hours away. RAC: And do you have your own car? ML: Yeah, a 2000 Cavalier Z24. RAC: Nice.  Aluminum wheels?  Air Conditioning?  Cruise Control? ML: Yes sir. RAC: Sounds like a great car!  Do you like college so far? You’re going to the school in Macomb, IL right? ML: Yeah the school’s nice.  Macomb’s a smaller town – I think it’s about 20,000 people.   RAC: Runde’s sells a lot of vehicles to people from Macomb.  Do you [...]

Happy Thanksgiving From Runde Auto Group! It’s that time of year again where we give thanks… thanks to the people we love, thanks for all of the nice things we have in life, and thanks to the ones who guided our lives in the right direction. (I remember in the fourth grade at St. Anthony elementary school in Dubuque, Tim Earle and I were fighting on the playground during recess — probably over who got to be quaterback next or something like that…  Our teacher, Mrs. Jane Stanton, had witnessed this and when we came back inside — she made us both stand up in from of the whole class and hug each other.  Sounds weird to be thankful for a teacher who used public humiliation as a deterrent, but I went to school with Tim for 12 years and I don’t [...]

The 2010 Ford Raptor was build for the true off-road enthusiast.  Check out this video that shows the dynamic capabilities of the truck.  Jamal Hameedi, chief engineer of the Ford SVT comments on the truck’s ability to jump (the truck was actually built to jump) and he also touches on the trucks Hill Descent Mode.   Runde Auto Group’s customer, Brian Hauber, took this footage of his new 2010 Ford Raptor going down a hill in the Hill Descent Mode. I think it’s safe to say that he loves his new Raptor so far.     If you’d like to check out a new Ford truck in person, please give our sales staff at our Ford store a call at 888-927-2630. If you’d like to check out our entire inventory, go to www.RundeAutoGroup.com — Or call us at 866-735-5200.

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 [...]