We’re talking about Sesame Street at Runde Auto Group today. “Sunny day – Sweepin’ the clouds away,  On my way to where the air is sweet.  Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street… “Sure, it’s right across the Julien Dubuque bridge!  Assuming your coming from Dubuque, just take the first right after you get off the bridge, take a right at the stop sign then go until you see Runde Chevrolet  to your left and you are there – where all the happy people meet. Runde’s has been all about Sesame Street – especially recently. The production 123 Sesame Street Live is coming to the Five Flags Center in Dubuque, IA. November 24th and 25th and Runde’s is supporting the production along with the Telegraph Herald. To get in the atmosphere of Sesame Street and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street, I went around our Chevrolet store to see who everyone’s favorite [...]

So you are planning a two-week visit to your mom’s house this winter and she has welcomed you to bring your pet for the visit? Great! Mom lives 5 hours away, a no-sweat trip for most, and your family is all excited for it. Your 6-year-old son can’t wait to sink his original baby teeth into Grandma Betsy’s world-famous chocolate chip cookies, yum! But what about Peaches, your Boxer puppy? This is your first long trip with him coming along and you are worried about how to go about the whole process.  Have you thought about traveling with pets? Well, let us help get you, your family, and Peaches already for the excursion. Some folks might say consult your vet before taking your pet on a trip. I’d just say make sure that you remember to take along plenty [...]

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 [...]

The twenty-sixth of October with kids roaming all over. Main Street was all cluttered with folk. Coming down the street was a royal fleet and the diesel was-a-blowing smoke. Yeah them smokies were holding back the traffic. They even had a cop on a bike. Those Jacksons were-a-dancing for quite a spell. And they were showing an abundance of heart. “Cause we gotta great big convoy, rocking through the night. Yeah we gotta great big convoy, ain’t she a beautiful sight? Come on an’ join our convoy, ain’t nothing gonna git in our way. We’re gonna roll this trucking convoy, cross the USA. Convoy.” Well that’s what it seemed like.  Ok.  [...]

Austin Arensdorff lives about 3-4 minutes away from our PreDriven store where he works in the Reconditioning Department.  He took a little time out to do a quick interview with us and who would have thought that an epic battle was about to erupt at our reconditioning department in Hazel Green? Austin… like Austin Powers, Austin Texas or ostentatious? Uh, Austin Powers I guess?   Groovy baby. If you could be Mike Meyers for a day, what would you do? Spend his money.   Grrrr baby, VERY grrrrrrr.   So what do you do around Runde’s? I buff cars and do the detail work. Yeah baby!  How long have you worked here? Two and a half years. Shagadellic!!  What would you say is [...]

Saw this today and thought I’d post it — it’s cute.  Just Madonna out for a daily drive with Clive Owen.   Granted I was never really much of a Madonna fan anyway so when I saw this, I was like Oh, ok.  I mean I like the songs and she has stayed on top of the music industry for a long time so she does command and deserve respect.  But I’m not so sure that she still deserves all the hype she gets.   I’d take Cyndi Lauper or Tori Amos any day of the month over Madonna.  She was just never at the top of my a-list … my apologies to any Material Girls out there who may be offended.  Please feel free to leave a comment if I touched a sore nerve or upset the Zen balance in your material world — just don’t remain Silent After all These Years — let it out, because [...]

Where do people go for up-to-date information about Ford electric vehicles?  Why Jay Leno, of course.  Who didn’t like watching Jay Leno? There’s just something about the show that sucks you in and leaves you feeling happy. Once he announced that he’d no longer do the Tonight Show, it was pretty easy to predict that there would be another show around the corner with Leno as the star. People can’t seem to get enough of him. The man is a car enthusiast with an extensive garage of vehicles that no one else could really fathom owning under one roof. To add to his already great name, he’s also a Chevy fan making him just THAT much cooler. In his new show, which will start airing September 14th, Jay will feature a section called “The Green Car Challenge” where the Ford electric vehicles will star. In the segment celebs will hop in Fords environmentally friendly vehicles [...]

Time Magazine recently published the top 10 most exciting vehicles of the year. Making the list are three vehicle makes that Runde’s offers. Here are the three along with pictures and what Time had to say about them: 1. The Suzuki Kizashi What Time Magazine has to say: “Known for small cars and SUVs, Suzuki makes its first foray into the heart of the U.S. market with the midsize Kizashi sedan. The exterior styling is fresh, and the interior packs cool features such as sporty seats and a nifty instrument cluster that give the car character. The Kizashi’s key asset could be its power train, which includes a new 4-cylinder aluminum engine that can be matched up to either a six-speed manual transmission or a continuously variable automatic transmission. Kizashi won’t go on sale until late fall, and the price is expected to be in the low-$20,000 range. Toyota and Honda better look over [...]

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 Ford Focus is a car you will fall in love with. With the Cash for Clunkers program running at full force, curiosity leads us to ask the question:  What vehicle are people buying to take full advantage of the program? Curiosity put to rest: out of the 80,500 vehicles The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has processed so far, the vehicle people are buying the most is none other than the Ford Focus. This shows why Ford’s C-Segment vehicle gained 43.6% in July. With 28mpg (combined – manual), a body style that will undoubtedly turn heads, the SYNC sound system, and a great overall drive …  no wonder why people can’t wait to get their hands on it. Not to mention, the 28mpg combined rating make it an almost guaranteed $4,500 credit instead [...]

This week I’d like to introduce you to Tim and Maryellen Engelke from Belmont Wisconsin.  Belmont is a town of about 1000 people that is situated in between Platteville and Mineral Point.  It is mainly a rural area, but the village of Belmont, itself, does offer some quaint local business and the residents are friendly people who are always willing to offer a helping hand to those in need … a good example of this is the Engelke family.  Tim Engleke is a is a farmer and his wife Maryellen runs a daycare from out of their farm. They brought with them their two bundles of joy: Christopher and Elsie who were very lively and fun to have around the dealership – a gust of fresh air, as [...]

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 [...]

We recently had a chance to interview Nicole Thor who brought her Suzuki Grand Vitara in for vehicle service in East Dubuque. Sitting patiently in the showroom while her car was being serviced, Nicole looked like she wanted to have a chat. They say everyone has a story to tell … so I decided to sit down and listen to her story. Thor, that’s a sweet last name. Yea it’s like the God of thunder, roooar! What brought you to Runde’s today? I am just here for an oil change. I hear you’ve bought vehicles from here before? Yep. I bought my Suzuki Grand Vitara from here. How were you treated? It was awesome! Great the whole way through and completely honest.   How’s the Suzuki Grand Vitara [...]

We’ve got a new staff member one coming on-board at Runde Auto Group– Jenna Schneider. We definitely hired a lively one. She seems to liven up the crew. Let’s get to know her a little better.   What do you do here at Runde’s? I take pictures and videos of cars. How long have you been here? It’s been just a couple of weeks now. Are you originally from the area? Yep. I’m from Menominee Il. Where did you go to school? I went to East Dubuque high school. What kind of past-times and hobbies do you partake in? I play volleyball, basketball and softball I also like to swim and boat. What is your favorite hang-out spot [...]

ZR1 Corvette vs. The Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet strike fighter jet Blue Devil vs. Blue Angel $117,000 vs. $25,000,000 Motor City’s best vs. The U.S. Navy’s finest Click the play button below to find out who wins … You’ve got a car with a top speed of 205 miles per hour and a jet plane with a top speed of 1190 miles per hour.  Granted, the Blue Angel was going to win … even with a head start, the jet fighter was still going to win.  But it sure made for a great photo opportunity and it was great publicity for the new Corvette ZR1.

What’s both wicked awesome and wicked fast?  Well, that would be this new inferno orange Chevy Camaro SS that just arrived at Runde Auto Group.  Inferno is an accurate description of this paint job because the car, simply put, is hot! This inferno orange 2010 Chevrolet Camaro is an impressive piece of machinery. Following many years of anticipation, Chevrolet’s all-new 2-door icon lives up to all the pomp and circumstance as it epitomizes what an American muscle car should be. This new Chevy Camaro is impressive whether it’s equipped with the base V-6 engine or the robust V-8 banger. The Camaro equipped with the V-6 powerplant can go from zero to 60 in six seconds, thanks the whopping 300 horses of raw power.  However the price tag is [...]

It was this big … honest!   Tom Erickson is a customer of ours from Coon Rapids, MN.   We gave him a Runde hat (now his lucky fishing hat) when he purchased a vehicle from us earlier this year. Today he emailed us the photo above attached to this message:  “Hey Tim (Runde) … I have a new good luck fishing hat!!! – Tom Erickson” Anyone who has spent any time fishing up in Minnesota or Northern Wisconsin can attest to how large some of these fish grow to.  Check out the video below from Minnesota of a Muskie swimming with a giant northern pike in its mouth.  The first time my brother-in-law showed me this video, I was like, “Holy guacamole”.   And I still say the [...]

If you haven’t said “Happy Birthday Greg Runde” yet today, well there’s still time. There were two important events that happened in 1969.  Obviously the most important of those was the birth of our owner, Greg Runde.  And then there was also Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon, which you may or may not remember.  Anyway, enough about the first moon landing —  let’s get back to Greg Runde’s birthday … To commemorate Greg’s 40th birthday, we made a little video to express our sentiments.  Please try not to tear up too much. Happy Birthday Greg Runde!

Do you know how to change a flat tire?  If not, then read on and watch the how-to video below where Briaunna Huseman will guide you step-by-step through changing a flat tire on your car. You’re rolling down the road jammin’ out to the new Black Eyed Peas album until you feel a little jolt. Slowly, but surely, your car starts to not feel quite right. You nervously pull over and get out to inspect your vehicle. To your pleasant surprise, you find a rather large nail in your tire that is leaking air out. What do you do now? You don’t know quite how to change that tire, you say? Well, that’s what we are here for! We created the following video to help everyone who might not quite know how to change that flat into tire-changing pros. A lot of times people are too embarrassed to admit that they don’t know how to [...]

This past week we had the pleasure of having a customer come in who owns this beautiful 1968 Chevy Camaro. It’s not too often that you see a Camaro of this year in such good shape. While he was here, we let him check out the new 2010 Camaro to get a sense of what the grandchild of his car looks like and how it handles. We all know that cars can’t talk without the aid of Hollywood’s magic.   However, I wonder what the conversation would be like if these two could have an actual car-to-car verbal exchange.   Take a look at these two together:

Seriously, If you don’t absolutely fall in love with the 2010 Camaro after watching the video below, then there has got to be something wrong with you.  What a gorgeous car!   Chevrolet’s engineers and designers really did their homework when they were creating this black beauty and it’s finally here after many years of anticipation and it’s available to the next lucky person who takes a test drive in it. Call our Chevy sales staff today to set up an appointment to check it our in person.    

We recently had a chance to interview a very nice family from Manchester Iowa … the Miller Family after they bought the van they had their eye on. Enjoy getting to know this great family, we know we did! What kind of vehicle did you buy? We bought a Chrysler Town & Country Touring Edition with seating for seven. Where is the first place you’ll take your new vehicle? Probably home. Do you think it’s a male or female? And will you give the car a name? Definitely a female. And no, I don’t think we plan on giving it a name. How often do you usually trade in your cars? When it’s time for them to go! [...]

You might remember Justin Hanger from our blog post back in April. Click here to refresh your memory.  Justin works part-time after school for us taking the online photos of cars, and recording  vehicle videos. This is his story… Justin started life in Pensacola, FL, where he lived until he was three. Health complications related to his grandparents forced his family to return to small town life in nearby Dickeyville, WI. He has one sister (Andrea, 19) and two brothers (Brian, 13 and Brandon, 6). All of the boys attend Cuba City Schools, with Justin being a Senior at the high school. At the age of 10, Justin got his first experience driving on a cold winter day when he ran a four-wheeler into the back of the neighbors Jeep.  He was driving down the road when he hit a snowbank, which sent him into a cataclysmic spiral towards the aforementioned Jeep. “It barely knocked off the dust off the bumper” according to Justin, but it all [...]

I noticed this commercial online on the American Idol website.  Thought it was pretty cool.  It starts out with a Ford Fusion sedan, which I must say is an awesome looking car.  It’s equipped with SYNC — the voice activated digital music system that Ford currently makes use of in cars like the ford Fusion sedan and Focus (you might recall the famous Focus commercial where one guy is trying to embarrass his friend by saying “Play Michael Bolton” into his friend’s SYNC system.)   Anyhoo – getting back to the Idol commercial … the lady in the Fusion says “Play artists American Idols” and then the commercial shows Adam Lambert, Danny Gokey, and Kris Allen getting into a bit of a jam, but escaping in a Ford Mustang.  It’s a little hokey (Gokey gettin’ hokey), but that was sure a sweet-lookin’ Mustang that they [...]