100 Years of Runde
From a small East Dubuque garage in 1927 to a multi-location dealership group serving the tri-state area, these milestones tell the story of Runde Auto Group.
The Beginning
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Alfred Runde founded the East Dubuque Garage in 1927, beginning what would become Runde Auto Group.
What started as a humble service garage laid the foundation for generations of family ownership and customer service.
Paul and Shirley Runde became co-owners of the family business in 1972.
At the time, the dealership was still a small operation where everyone pitched in wherever needed.
A new dealership lot was built up the hill from downtown East Dubuque on Highway 35N.
The larger store and expanded lot gave Runde more room to grow inventory and better serve customers.
Runde opened the Runde PreDriven store just a mile from Runde Chevrolet.
By 1996, the used vehicle store had expanded its lot and inventory as more shoppers discovered Runde’s straightforward sales approach.
After Paul’s retirement, his five sons — Tim, Ron, Greg, Mike, and Jeff — collectively purchased the ownership rights to the dealership.
This marked another major transition in Runde’s multi-generation history.
Runde purchased a Buick dealership in Cuba City and became an early adopter of online inventory advertising.
Vehicles began appearing on Autotrader and on Runde’s own website, helping customers shop inventory in a new way.
Runde acquired a Ford-Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealership in Manchester, Iowa.
The Manchester store became an important part of the community and expanded Runde’s reach even further.
In December 2012, Runde acquired Platteville’s Mound View Motors dealership and merged it with operations from the Cuba City Buick dealership.
The location became Runde Chevrolet Buick GMC of Platteville, adding another major store to the group.
The Platteville location underwent a major renovation of its showroom, service center, and physical lot.
The upgraded facility strengthened service for customers across Southwestern Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, and the Dubuque area.
The East Dubuque headquarters welcomed its first full-time 4th generation family employee when Jacob Puls joined the sales staff.
That moment marked the continuation of the Runde family legacy into a new generation.
