It was a cloudy day when Dick R. picked up his new Chevrolet Equinox LTZ at Runde Chevrolet just 1 mile east of Dubuque, but he was full of sunshine. He was thrilled as he checked out the added chrome touches on the mirrors, roof rack and door handles, and as he inspected the pinstripe down the side of the crystal red Equinox. “I think the nice touch of the little extras make it worth it,” he said. “I’m old school, and I was reflecting back on the cars of the ’50s and ’60s and their chrome.” This is his fifth vehicle from Runde Auto Group, and his third Equinox from the dealership. “I like the styling, I like the handling, and I like the fact that [...]

Salesperson Tim Meyer of Dubuque will soon be celebrating a retirement and a birthday all at the same time.  He will retire from Runde Chevrolet in East Dubuque on Nov. 4 – two days before his 62nd birthday. “I’ll have 29 years and 9 months in the car business and most of that has included selling new Chevy vehicles in Dubuque and the surrounding areas,” Tim said. “I come from an automobile parts family over in Dubuque, so I’ve been fed and clothed by the automobile industry almost all my life.” Tim is excited to travel to visit family members, like his brother in Ohio, sister in northern Illinois and his brother in the Chicago area. He also is excited to spend more time with his family members here, including his 2 children, Megan, 34, and Jesse, 32, as well as his grandchildren and friends in Arizona. Tim started in the car business [...]

Runde Chevrolet salesperson Nick Roche was awarded second place in the professional category of Art Slam at Voices X on Saturday! This was his first time competing in the 90-minute live painting competition. “It went well,” Nick said. “It went really fast.  It was kind of hard to know when to stop because you only had so long and so you didn’t want to put too much in and not be able to fix mistakes. With about 10 minutes to the end, I was pretty much done.” The subjects of the painting were models posing in the warehouse at the corner of 10th and Jackson streets. Nick’s favorite part was the feedback he received. “A guy was watching me – my dad overheard him, actually – and he said he knew by my style who I had learned that under,” Nick said. “He came up to me after and said he was interested to see [...]

Runde Auto Group is excited to once again be a sponsor of Voices From the Warehouse District and they are very excited about Voices X. This year marks the month-long art exhibition’s 10th anniversary, and Voices X is set to be bigger and better than ever. “We really wanted to focus on things that we haven’t had before — more installation artists and more digital media artists,” said Janice Roerig-Blong, exhibition coordinator of Voices X. There will be 14 exhibiting artists, including local, regional and some from as far away as Seattle and New York, as well as three guest artists.  Gene Tully, the founder of Voices, will also be exhibiting his work this year. “He hasn’t (exhibited) since I think the first or second Voices,” Janice said. One of the pieces created [...]

Customer service is extremely important to Kathy and Robert Simon.  Today they were reminded why they keep coming back to Runde Auto Group: the dealership’s dedication to customer satisfaction. The Dubuque couple purchased a white Chevrolet Corvette Convertible, but their salesman Mark Fleege didn’t disappear after the deal was complete.  Just the opposite actually. The heart of great customer service ultimately comes down to time … Mark takes the time to work with his customers, he takes the time to explain things to his customers, and he also takes the time to make sure has has met all of his customers’ needs.  That’s customer service and that’s Runde Auto Group. Mark has worked for Runde’s for so long that excellent customer service is actually encoded into his DNA strands.  All [...]

Bill and Joslyn Seefeldt from Milton, WI (just north of Janesville) drove a couple hours to buy their new Chevy Sonic mostly because of Runde Auto Group’s dedication to customer service. “We contacted several dealers in our neighborhood and they said it would be too hard to get the car or it wouldn’t be efficient for them to get the exchange,” Bill said. The couple got what they wanted at Runde’s: a new Chevy Sonic LT, with a turbocharged engine. The hatchback vehicle will be used as a work car for Joslyn, who is a farrier (which is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses’ hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves). “I wanted something that was very fuel efficient and the new Chevy Sonic will be a work car for me,” Joslyn said. “I drove one over the winter when my truck was laid up and [...]

Runde Chevrolet got a blast from the past when Bob Kinsella pulled into the lot in his 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle SS with a 396. The vehicle, with its frost green exterior and dark green vinyl top and interior, was purchased from Paul Runde at Runde Chevrolet back in 1968. The cost for the special order at the time was just $4,165.90. Its original receipt itemizes features the vehicle included, like a clock for $15, the vinyl top for $89, the rear window defroster for $22 and bucket seats for $121. The 375 horsepower 396 engine, which [...]

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 [...]

We you aware that there was now a fuel efficient Chevrolet Cruze diesel and that it produced the following phenomenal results? • Best Highway Fuel Economy of Any Non-Hybrid Passenger Car in America • Can travel 700 highway miles on single tank   DETROIT (from media.gm.com) – The new 2014 Chevrolet Cruze diesel, delivers an industry best EPA-estimated 46 MPG on the highway – better than any non-hybrid passenger car in America. It will be available in certain cities this spring and nationwide in early fall. Equipped with a six-speed automatic transmission, the latest addition to the Cruze powertrain family has an estimated range of 700 highway miles on one tank of diesel fuel based on the EPA highway estimate and the vehicle’s fuel tank capacity. That’s about 10 hours of highway [...]

Today’s results from the JD Power and Associates 2013 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) show just how much GM has improved in long-term reliability and durability. The Vehicle Dependability Study focuses on problems customers experienced in the past 12 months with three-year old vehicles. This year’s study was based on feedback from 37,000 owners of 2010 model year vehicles.  J.D. Power measures overall dependability by the level of problems experienced per 100 vehicles. The lower the PPH score, the higher the dependability. Highlights of the 2013 VDS include: Four segment award winners: Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Sierra HD and Buick Lucerne Seven additional GM vehicles scored in the top three in their segments GM had the lowest rate of component replacement (e.g., batteries, switches, etc.) From an owner loyalty perspective, J.D. Power found that 54 percent of customers who experienced no vehicle problems stayed loyal to the brand. This number drops to 41 [...]

Runde GMC in Platteville becomes a Reality Press Release 12-24-12 Runde Auto Group is pleased to announce the acquisition of Mound View Motors in Platteville, WI from Mr. Everett Gillilan.  Everett “Honest Todd” has been in the car business over 60 years and we wish him well. The operations will combine with those of our Cuba City Buick location and all employees from that location will remain with us in Platteville.  Most of the employees from the Mound View operation will be retained as well. We sincerely regret the impact this may have on the city of Cuba City.  We are hoping to soon find another use for the facility; we are currently looking at outside options as well as within our organization.  The Cuba City operation was successful for over ten years.  [...]

Pat and Pam May are some of the cheeriest people you could ever meet. In fact, there’s not a trace of melancholy within miles and miles of these two twins. They came in to purchase a pair of Chevolet Sonics from the Sales Manager at Runde Chevy, John Riley, and they were ecstatic to share how wonderful of an experience they had. You two are twins, correct? How can I tell you two apart? Yes. Pam has the short hair and Pat has the ponytail. Which one of you was born first? We were born two minutes apart. Pam: I’m the smarter one. Pat: She’s the older one, too! *Both Laugh* How was it being twins growing up? It was great. We always got along really good. [...]

1. Check your Lights before driving at night. Darkness is definitely not your friend – despite everything we’ve heard from Simon and Garfunkel. It’s very important to make sure that the headlight bulbs you are using to tear through that darkness is effective. Check all of your lights for clarity and proper functionality – head, tail, braking, turn, fog… the whole nine yards.  Slap on those hazards, get out and see if all your lights are flashing correctly. If you are without friend/human companion you can check to make sure your brake lights are working by backing up towards a reflective surface (building, window, etc.) and see if you can see your brake lights in the reflection. You may also consider getting your headlights properly aimed. Poorly aligned headlights can blind other drivers and limit your road visibility.  If you’ve had any damage to the front of your vehicle from a previous car accident, it [...]

Gary Bonnet just bought a 2012 Chevy Silverado 1500 from our Chevrolet salesman, Mark Fleege.  He chimed in with a quick review about his fantastic service at Runde Auto Group! How would you rate your experience on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best and 1 being the absolute worst? 10 out of 10 What did you think of your salesman? The same.  10 out of 10 Where are you from and have you always lived in that area? I’m from East Dubuque, Il. Yes, I’ve always lived there. Married? Kids? Pets? I am married, and my kids are all grown. What are your past times / hobbies? I like football. What is your favorite restaurant in the area?  Without a doubt … Fried Green Tomatoes in Galena, IL. Do you (and/or your family) have a favorite vacation spot or have a place you’d like to go? [...]

If you noticed fireworks lighting up the western skies this past Friday, what you were probably witnessing was part of the festivities for the Annual Peosta Parade and Fun Day.   The sixth annual Peosta Days event was held in conjunction with the Annual Fireman’s Auction and the extravaganza promised something for kids of all ages. Friday’s events included the brilliant fireworks, skydivers, good food & drinks and live music featuring the band Hard Salami. On Saturday, the Peosta Days Parade took place and Doug Weig and his wife Angela were able to get some great shots of the Runde Chevrolet truck they drove in the parade.  It started at Mi-T-M and it ended up at the Peosta Rec Center. Doug said that it was a good time for everyone.   But the most intriguing event was one that I had never heard of … Cow Pie Bingo.  Doug said that he wanted to play, but it [...]

Runde’s was recently honored to have San Francisco 49ers draft pick, Darius Fleming, come in to Runde Chevrolet to pick up a smoking hot Black Camaro coupe!  Darius played for Notre Dame as an outside linebacker and is training for the 49ers currently. He found time to come from his training camp in Lake Forest, IL to pick up his Camaro from our salesman, Mark Fleege.  Darius was gracious enough to let us interview him. You might be surprised by some of his unique talents and what he has in common with the movie “Rudy”! Are you originally from the area? No, I’m from the south side of Chicago.  I grew up in the Beverly area, right off of Western Ave. around 119th. Did you have a nickname growing up? My nickname was Baby-D, because I was named after my uncle.   Since his name was Darius as well, they called me Baby-D so when somebody would say “Darius” [...]

Needless to say that this new design for the new Ford Fusion has been very well received at the Chicago Auto Show this week and people’s comments have been very favorable toward it.  The video below was shot by Runde Auto Group  — The noise in the background of the vid was coming from the new Shelby Mustang presentation across the room and we’ll post the video of that soon.  People were definitely all a-buzz about the Shelby, but this new Fusion is definitely gorgeous. The new Ford Fusion design is only about 1 inch longer and 1/2 inch wider than the previous Fusion, but it looks a lot longer than its predecessor mainly due to an extended wheelbase that’s almost 5 inches longer than the 2012 version.  A new inline 4-cylinder 1.6 Liter EcoBoost engine will be available on the all-new Fusion.  And this optional turbo engine will produce 179 horsepower and 172 lb-ft [...]

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 [...]

Kurt Larson, who has worked for Runde’s for the past 6 years, worked his last day of the summer yesterday.  Will this be the end of his tenure at Runde Chevrolet?  We hope not.   One thing we do know for sure is that he’s always welcome to come back and work for us again.  Kurt is a top notch employee who always did exceptional work in and around the dealership.  He has always been a dependable worker (a definite go-to guy) and to be completely honest, that’s not something you see too often these days with employees who are in their teen years or early 20’s.   After graduating from Augustana College in the Quad Cities earlier this year, Kurt came back [...]

Everyone has their own way of showing their appreciation to their fathers on father’s day. Why not start out the day by taking your father out to a nice breakfast? Not sure where to go? May I suggest the Mid-Town Marina where Boy Scout Troop 14 will be serving a wonderful breakfast for you and your father to enjoy? Sunday, June 19th is Fathers Day and Scout Troop 14 will be serving Eggs, Pancakes and Sausage from 8:00am – Noon to anyone who wants a great Fathers Day Breakfast to start off their day. We sat down with Clark Wolff, who works with the East Dubuque Boy Scout Troop 14, who was kind enough to give us some details of the event. What is the main goal of this event? The pancake breakfast is actually Troop 14’s main, and biggest, fundraiser for the troop. The kids that work the pancake breakfast actually earn money [...]

Jordan Frakes & Lindsey Rossow from Iowa City visited the Runde used car dealership near Dubuque today to pick up Jordan’s new ride.  He was forced to find a replacement for his previous car that was totaled after someone pulled out in from of him.  Jordan and Lindsey are currently students at the University of Iowa and they kindly gave me a few minutes of their time before making the trek back to Iowa City. What Brought you into Runde’s?    Jordan: I saw the car online at Cars.com and I liked what I saw so I called you guys up and scheduled a time to drive it and then we talked about the price for awhile. What car was it?   Jordan: It was a 2006 Pontiac G6 [...]

If you weren’t able to check out the latest edition of Her magazine in Dubuque’s Telegraph Herald this past Sunday, then you may have missed that Runde’s was voted as their readers’ favorite Auto Dealer. We were thrilled to learn that Runde Auto Group had been voted #1 out of all the local car dealers, but we’re definitely not going to walk around with over-inflated egos.  We’ll continue to strive to make the car buying experience here as easy and as transparent as possible for our buyers. A big shout of “Thanks” goes out to Megan Gloss and all the folks at Her Magazine for taking the time to put the contest together and publish the results.   We’d also like to thank all of the Her readers who took the time to participate in the voting.  Muchas Gracias!!!

Matt and Jenna Rokes came in after doing some shopping for a truck and you’ll be seeing them in their new truck in the Quad Cities soon. For those who have never visited the Quad Cities, it’s a little bit south of Clinton, IA.  They were nice enough to sit down with me for a few minutes to share their experience and a bit about themselves. What brought you into Runde’s? We found the vehicle that we wanted with low miles, a Chevy Avalanche. What’s it going to be used for? Anything that we can use it for. We just bought a house and it doesn’t have any landscaping so we’re planning on doing a lot of that [...]

You’ll soon see Nan Connolly driving around her Chevy Impala in East Dubuque.  She is originally from Dubuque, but she recently built and moved into a house just outside of East Dubuque, IL. She came into Runde Chevy looking for a new Chevy to replace her vehicle. While she was here, she sat down and shared her experience with us. What brought you into Runde’s today? Probably advertising and I knew I wanted a Chevy when I was shopping. I was looking around and Runde’s seemed to have the best car prices. What vehicle did you end up going with? The Chevy Impala, I like it. My other car kind of gave up so I said “it’s time.” I [...]

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.  [...]