In the short amount of time I spent with David and Jan Rafoth customers from Dubuque, I could tell that they have led interesting lives. And what constitutes an “interesting life” you may ask? For starters, how about stepping on a bomb and living to tell the story? Not enough for you? … Well add-on finding out where you are going to live based on a nice random car ride. Read on, hopefully you are as entertained by their stories as I was listening to them. How did you hear about Runde’s? Well we were looking to trade our car and we had previous experience with Runde’s and Al Kloft and we were treated right the last time we were here.  [...]

The arrival of the new Buick Verano sedan is only a few months away and they sales staff at Runde Buick in Platteville is looking forward to seeing this new car in person.  With all of the snow still on the ground, I’ll bet you’re thinking that we’ve completely wigged out, flipped our lids, and that we’re about to come apart at the seams.   We’ll hold onto your butts for a sec. For those of you who have studied a little Español, you probably know that the title of this blog post when translated into Spanish becomes: “El verano es mucho más cerca de lo que crees.”  The literal translation would be:  The summer is much more near than you believe.  So the Spanish word for summer (by deduction) is “Verano” and that just happens [...]

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 [...]

I haven’t seen the Ellen Show in ages, and I must admit that her show is quite amusing. She’s a natural entertainer along the lines of Jerry Springer, but her show itself is more comparable to the Oprah show in nature … Oprah-lite if you will. I ran across this on the net and thought it was kind of cool … Last week Ellen decided to give away a new 2011 Buick Regal to one of her loyal viewers. However, like most of the segments on the Ellen show, she decided to have a little fun with it first.   Now I realize that not everyone will receive a free Regal in this lifetime. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t get one the old fashion way. Runde’s in Platteville, WI currently has a good selection of 2011 Buick Regal sedans in stock that you can view 24/7 at www.RundeAutoGroup.com

Darlene and Frank Potter came from Zwingle Iowa to pick up their Jeep Liberty recently. While here they sat down with me and we had a relaxing conversation to get to know how their experience was. I don’t know if I’m just out of the loop or something, but I had never heard of a spaghetti western! What led you here to Runde’s in the first place? Oh…We’ve been dealing with Runde’s for years. How do you like Dave Smith, your salesman? He’s a terrific salesman. You come in when you don’t even intend to buy and you walk out buying something. He must be quite the smooth talker, huh? What would you give him on a scale of 1-10? 10, he’s just [...]

One of Runde’s newest customers is Ricardo Matthews, who currently plays noseguard on the defensive line of the Indianapolis Colts.  Ricardo purchased a new Jeep Grand Cherokee from Runde’s last week and was thoroughly pleased with everything.  As you can imagine, with the NFL season in full swing, Ricardo didn’t have time to come all the way to Runde Auto Group in Manchester, IA to pick up his new SUV … so Runde’s delivered it right to his doorstep in Indianapolis. You may recall that we’ve sold a couple of vehicles to Mardy Gilyard of the St. Louis Rams.  Well it turns out that Ricardo and Mardy (both rookies in the NFL this year) were teammates last year at the University of Cincinnati.  The two teammates still keep in touch and Mardy let Ricardo know where he could find a great deal on a new vehicle and door-to-door service on top of that. Ricardo Matthews attended high school in [...]

Steven Troester and his wife Diane of Dubuque, IA came into Runde’s to pick up their new 4-wheel-drive truck. Just before they took off in their new rig, they gave me a chance to interview them.  Here’s what they had to say: What led you to Runde’s? Our friends told us about the good service and deals on used cars they got from Runde’s so we thought we’d give it a try. What did you end up with? Exactly what I wanted – a  4-wheel-drive truck – Dave Smith found all of that in the Colorado I picked up today. If you were to rank your experience with Runde’s on a scale of 1-10 what would you give it? Probably a nine. No problems, everyone was really friendly and honest. And your salesperson, Dave Smith, what would you [...]

There was a new face that appeared wearing a Runde shirt recently.   No this was not just an extremely loyal customer who loved wearing Runde garments … his name was Brian Pinch.  And we seized up the opportunity to interview our newest employee.   What do you do here at Runde’s?   I’m a sales consultant here for new Chevy vehicles.   How long have you worked here?   I’ve been here just a few weeks now.  Oh and I also can assist customers in leasing Chevy vehicles too. Are you originally from the area?   I’m originally from Dubuque and lived here most of my life.  I lived in Cedar Rapids until fourth grade.   What is your best experience at Runde’s to date?   My best experience really is just working with management and having other employees point me in the right direction.  Everyone is very helpful and has the great characteristics of good customer service.   What are your past times / [...]

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 [...]

Today we had the pleasure of getting to know a family who recently bought a Chrysler Town & Country van from us. Sharon, Darlene, Alex, Emily and Gavin took a few moments to share their experience with us.  We give you … the Riesselman Family. How did you find Runde Auto Group and this Chrysler Town & Country? We found you guys on the internet. Your website was very easy to navigate and we easily found what we wanted. I really like how you can narrow by the year, model and mileage, it makes it really easy to find what you are looking for. Where is the first place you’ll take your new Chrysler Town & Country van? Darlene: Home to see [...]

We sat down this morning and had a quick chat with the highly energetic and ever-ambitious Brandon Hanger. Brandon has been working nights at Runde Chevrolet for the past four years (He comes in with his mom and dad after hours and helps with facility maintenance). We were so impressed with his professional drive that we immediately added him to our sales staff. He wound up selling four new cars today and he’s already decided to put the commission money away for his retirement.  We seriously need to clone this kid.    

It’s not too often that we make national news around the Tri-States. When it happens, though, you know its gotta be something big. The Lake Delhi Dam failing and the resulting area flooding is something big. Devastation slowly ensued upon realization that the place so many called “home” was so severely damaged by the flooding. Homes, businesses, valuable items were lost and it left a lot of work to be done to get things cleaned up and restored.     There are good people out there, people who want to make a difference and help see others get back on their feet. Here are two great examples of just that:  Jill Reimer of Rainbo Oil coordinated the Trucks of Love donation collection. Cumulus 106.1 Super Hits broadcasted live to try to help raise donations and awareness.  I visited with Jill and she explained; “We got a list of [...]

How did you find Runde Auto Group and this particular vehicle? Through Al Kloft.  I told him what I was looking for and he went and found it for me. I bought a Trailblazer and my brother bought a vehicle from Al not too long ago too. Why did you decide to purchase it here?  Because I found what I liked and because I’ve known Al for a long time.  He’s a family friend so I trusted him. And I liked it so I said yeah I’d buy it.   Where is the first place you’ll take your new car? I don’t know … probably work. Really? Yeah I have have work at 9 o’clock tonight.   Where do you work at? At The Barn in Sherrill Iowa — it’s a bar and a restaurant up there. I used to go up to the barn a long time ago — we [...]

**Update: Check out our footage of the Air Show planes HERE. Many families in the Tri-State area have made a tradition of gathering together to watch the 3rd of July air show and fireworks display. There is a lot of time, effort and hard work put into the event. Perry Mason, the General Sales Manager at Radio Dubuque, is one of the important people behind the scenes who helps organize the July 3rd event every year and is here to explain the show and what it takes to make the spectacular performance happen. Perry knows a thing or two about throwing a good show and has been involved with the air show through its entirety of 25 years. Perry explains, “This is the 25th anniversary of the air Show. We have one of the biggest shows in the nation. Going to the show not only provides a great bonding and get-together time with [...]

The Volt is just about here and Earth is anxiously waiting for its eco-friendly arrival. Why not help out the environment while experiencing one of the most high-tech rides of all-time.  And at the same time, you can save some green in gas $$$ for driving green? It all seems like a win-win to me. You know what else, though? The fact that if you buy the Volt you could be going home to a professionally installed 240-volt charge station. The Volt runs in one of three ways. 1. All electric – up to 40 miles on a single charge. 2. Extended range capability (gas/electric mixed) – designed to drive up to 350 miles without stopping to recharge or refuel. 3. Gasoline – will last another 300 miles. Needless to say, the [...]

Richard W. Fanning came to us from Janesville Wisconsin to purchase a brand new Silverado. He was having a great time chatting with the Runde’s staff even though his vehicle was already ready to go. I managed to sit down for a spell with Richard and he was ecstatic to share his experiences at Runde with the rest of the world. Read on to see why Richard was so satisfied. What led you to Runde’s? Originally I found my way here by word of mouth from friends that suggested this place to me. I was here last year buying a truck. It is one of the most pleasurable dealerships I’ve ever been at and that’s going on 64 years of car and truck buying. I have been [...]

Today we had the pleasure of getting to know Danielle Crandall from Stockton Illinois a little better. This Navy gal stopped in to find a newer vehicle to transport herself between Navy bases.  Ultimately she found the perfect car! Read on to find out more about her experience buying a used car at Runde PreDriven. How did you find Runde Auto Group? My parents had told me about you guys. They have bought from you before and recommended Runde Auto Group to me. What vehicle did you go with? Why that vehicle? I went with an ’07 Saturn Aura. I saw a Saturn Aura at Buffalo Wild Wings one time and since then I wanted one so I thought I’d check to see if you had one on your site and you did! So you bought a car because you saw it at Buffalo Wild Wings and thought you would look [...]

If the toppings are free, the more the merrier, right?  Maybe the same can be said of the Ford SYNC feature.  I’d like to think so, especially with Ford’s already impressive “topping” list of features such as Turn by Turn Directions, Traffic Alerts, Hands Free Calling, Voice Activated Music, and 911 Assist, just to name a few. However now there’s even more to look FORwarD to as the SYNC will be capable of pulling up Movie Listings, Stock Quotes, Airline and Rentals and even your Horoscope! In a tech world, Ford keeps our appetites in check with all of these great features that keep getting packed on top of their already great SYNC technology.  Check out the video below for more information and demonstrations of the new features.   [...]

Sean Dailey is one of Runde’s newest employees. Over the past few weeks he has been very busy meeting all of the friendly faces at our Ford-Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep store and helping the great people of, and around, Manchester with their vehicle needs. In the midst of his busy schedule we were able to sneak in a few questions to get to know him bit better. So Sean, what exactly do you do here at Runde’s? I am a general sales associate, I sell cars. How long have you been doing that? Two and a half weeks so far. Are you originally from the Manchester area? No, I was actually born in San Francisco. I joined the military and after moving around for a while, I settled here in Iowa about 19 years ago. Why Iowa? I moved around a lot as a military kid, and spent some time in Iowa. In fact, [...]

Everyone loves pizza, right?  And possibly the only thing people like better than pizza is … a big pizza. C’mon, let’s face it … you can beat a big pizza.  Big fish … nope.  Big burger … sorry.  Big pizza … most definitely.      Some of the beefier men here at Runde’s went on a journey the other day. A journey of self-discovery, testing the limits of themselves and their stomach’s, a journey that only Luigi’s Big Pizza Baby in Dubuque, IA could provide. They supplied us with the biggest pizza that I, and several others, have ever seen with a whopping 30″ in diamater! The following video is a document of the momentous day that was Lunch from Luigi’s Pizza … Enjoy!  

Jeff Schmitt has been with us here at Runde Chevrolet for several years. Having to deal with appointments and service, Jeff is always a busy guy. Today, however, we got to sneak in a couple questions in an attempt to give you a small glimpse of the life of Jeff Schmitt. Thanks for chatting with me Jeff. To start out, what would you say is your position here? Assistant Body Shop Manager would be my “main position” but I do several other things such as service writing, making appointments, etc. How long have you been here? Since August 2007, so a couple of years. How do you like it at Runde’s? It’s great. Everyone is really friendly. Where are you from? I was born [...]

Want a good indication that the future is here? How about the fact that the products currently in the works make the things that we could have only imagined “to be the future” look primitive and obsolete?   The EN-V Prototype (Electric Networked-Vehicle) manufactured by General Motors plans to be hitting the streets as the new “Urban Mobility Vehicle” (think along the lines of a Segway, but not nearly as basic and lame). Tired? Drunk? Hurt or just lazy? The EN-V has you covered as it works autonomously, meaning that it can drive itself with the integrated GPS. In addition to an array of safety features and smart programming for heavy traffic, sudden reaction sensing, and the like,  the EN-V is an electric vehicle. It will plug into a [...]

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 [...]

Runde customer Kara Walen is the daughter of Jerald and Sherry Walen who recently bought a vehicle from Runde’s.  She came in today to pick up her new car. This college student from Dubuque, IA was nice enough to let us get an interview with her about her experience at Runde Auto Group. What brought you to Runde’s today? My Mom and Dad actually just bought a Santa Fe from you guys about two months ago and suggested that I come here to get my new car. What did they have to say about their experience? They loved it. They really like their car and thought Al Kloft [their salesman] was great. What did you end up picking up? A used [...]