Tressa Miller works in the office of our PreDriven dealership in Hazel Green, Wisconsin. She handles titles, processes deals, and answers the phones. I sat and talked with her for a few minutes today, and here is what she had to say!   Runde Auto Chat: How long have you worked at Runde’s? Tressa Miller: 6 years Runde Auto Chat: What do you like best about your job? Tressa Miller: I don’t know…I like everything about it. There isn’t really a part I don’t like. RAC: Who is your favorite NASCAR driver? TM: Gordon (As I notice the Gordon jacket hanging on the back of her chair) RAC: How many races have you been to? TM: 8, most of them were at Chicago Speedway RAC: Who will you cheer for when Gordon retires? TM: Whoever is racing for Hendrick Motorsports…just that whole team. RAC: What do you want for Christmas this year? TM: I haven’t really [...]

We were just talking about this the other day in the lunch break room at Runde PreDriven.  What does your vehicle say about you?  Is the type or color of the vehicle you drive an extension of your personality?  Is there such a thing as vehicle personality? Most of us think we drive the vehicles we want to drive…it’s as simple as that. But what we don’t realize is there is a psychological connection to the vehicles we drive, the way they make us feel when we drive them, and the image they allow us to portray. I think most of us can relate to coming to a stop at a red light and the person next to you looks over, as if to say ‘Nice ride!’ or ‘I wouldn’t be caught dead driving [...]

Thanksgiving Day is tomorrow, and you all know what that means…TURKEY!!  Ms. Donna Ginter, a resident of Dubuque, is about to have her 47th annual FREE Thanksgiving dinner. It will be held at the Dubuque Knights of Columbus on Locust Street. Every year, Ms. Ginter and many volunteers cook SEVENTY 25-pound turkeys and 6 different kinds of salad.  They also buy dinner rolls and pies to feed those less-fortunate or shut-in people in the community. Last year’s meal fed about 2,400 people. Ms. Ginter had about approximately 260 volunteers.  They used 75 cars to deliver meals and they went through 57 turkeys. She organizes 2 festivals during the year (Catfish Festival and Riverfest), and is a food vendor at Dubuquefest. The money she makes at her booth is used to fund the Thanksgiving dinner. She also receives donations throughout the year from people and businesses. This year is a special one for [...]

The Runde PreDriven dealership up by the Three Mile House Supper Club has a new vehicle on the premises: the Suzuki Carry. Imported from Japan, these quality off-road 4WD mini-trucks can be used in the United States as farm utility vehicles, ranch trucks, and hunting vehicles. They can be used on golf courses, in parks, at campgrounds, resorts, schools, municipalities, for nursery/landscaping businesses and more. The uses for these tough little trucks are seemingly endless. Right now only used ones can be purchased in the US. New ones haven’t been mass-imported to the US yet, but if they do ever get here in large numbers, watch out for the Carry! The Carry is used to haul our water tanks for washing vehicles and other equipment needed on the lot. The Carry is [...]

Dale Bird was in our dealership waiting for his vehicle to get finished in service. I stole a few minutes of his time to discuss his experience with Runde’s. Runde Auto Chat: What kind of vehicle are you having serviced? Is it a routine appointment? Dale Bird: It’s a Chevy Impala. It just needed an oil change. RAC: Did you buy the vehicle at Runde Chevrolet? DB: Yes, I bought it new here. RAC: Have you bought any other vehicles from us? DB: Yes, probably about 4 or 5. RAC: What do you appreciate most about Runde’s and how they do business? DB: It’s convenient. I live about 2 miles from here in Dubuque. RAC: Do you have any children or grandchildren? DB: We have 3 boys, and 2 grandchildren: 1 boy and 1 girl. They live in Indianapolis, Indiana. RAC: What kinds of activities are they involved in? DB: Lots of sports, but [...]

The following appeared in the October edition of the Camp Courageous monthly newsletter regarding our salesman, Al Kloft: “Al Kloft and his wife, Sherry, of Dubuque dropped off cases of footballs, hats, stuffed toy Runde monkeys, and clothes for camp.  The Klofts have been long time supporters of camp.  A special thank you to Tim Runde and Runde Auto Group for providing many of the items for campers … the campers love the gifts!”   Camp Courageous is a year-round recreational and respite care facility for individuals of all ages with disabilities.  The camp is located in Monticello, IA and it is a not-for-profit organization.    It was founded on and continues to run on donations. Anyone with a disability can attend.  Vision, mental, physical, and other disabilities are typical of [...]

Dave Frazier who works in the Chevy Sales department at our store in East Dubuque welcomed the arrival of his 1st son, Jackson Frazier, last month.  Dave says that he is doing well and he’s currently 20″ tall and weighs about 9 pounds.   Runde Auto Chat: What are your son’s hobbies are so far? Dave Frazier:  Jackson enjoys laying around, eating, pooping, and sleeping.    RAC:  I guess it’s getting sort of cold for long walks in the park.  Does he have any hidden talents? DF:  I’m not sure about that, but he sure has a lot of hair. RAC:  What’s his favorite food? DF:  Right now he’s hitting the Similac Formula pretty hard. RAC:  You have a daughter, correct?  How is she reacting to the new baby?

Kurt Larson of Runde Chevrolet works behind-the-scenes in the Runde Auto Group detailing department. He is just starting college, but finds time to come back to Runde’s on breaks. ME: How long have you worked for Runde’s? What is your favorite part of your job? Kurt Larson: I’ve worked for them for about 4 years and I like getting to drive all the different cars. ME: Where do you go to school? Kurt Larson: Augustana College in Rock Island. ME: Do you have a major picked yet? Kurt Larson: Yeah, I’m going into Pre-Dentistry. ME: Do you play any sports at school? Kurt Larson: Only intramurals; Flag Football and basketball. ME: Who do you think will run for president in 2012? Kurt Larson: I think President Obama will probably run again, and maybe Hilary. I don’t know for the Republican side. ME: Do [...]

Heather Tieskoetter recently purchased a used Chevy Equinox at the Runde PreDriven used car store in Hazel Green. Runde Auto Chat had the chance to chat with Heather for a few minutes this afternoon about: her Runde experience, her family, the election, and life in general. So here’s Heather in a nutshell … Runde Auto Chat: What kind of vehicle did you purchase? Heather Tieskoetter: A used Chevy Equinox LT. Runde Auto Chat: What do you thin of the sale process at Runde’s? Heather Tieskoetter: It was great.  The sales staff was awesome and worked with me to help me find the perfect vehicle. RAC: How often do you get a newer vehicle? HT: This is my first [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

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 [...]