The Chevy Volt Hybrid car is something different and new, naturally you probably have some questions about the vehicle and how it all works. Well, to your luck, the Chief Engineer behind the Chevy Volt – Andrew Farah, answered several great questions about the Volt in the following Q&A. 4:02 [Comment From Scott ] How was the drive and how does it compare to other hybrids such as the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius? 4:04 Andrew Farah:  Clearly I enjoyed the significantly longer EV distance that is available with the Volt.   I had to drive quite some distance before the engine came on, even though I didn’t start with a full charge.   By comparison, our chassis is much more sporty than either of [...]

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 [...]

Go ahead, take all the road trips you want this summer, Suzuki’s got you covered.  You can either buy a new fuel efficient Suzuki SX4 or you can take part in Suzuki’s new promotion.  So listen closely if you’re tired of paying too much for gas in the Dubuque area. Suzuki wants you to enjoy your summer by supplying you with FREE gas for the Summer when you purchase any Suzuki SX4 model. Qualified buyers will receive a pre-paid gas card from Suzuki, valued at $270 or $290 depending on which model you buy. In addition to the gas promotion you can get $2,000 customer cash if you buy a Suzuki SX4 with a manual transmission or $1,000 customer cash if you buy the automatic. This promotion launched on July 1st and will run until August 31. Check out the Suzuki SX4 in action here: If you are interested in taking advantage of the great [...]

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 [...]

Hello Gary, can you tell me a little bit about the event? This is the single largest event in Dubuque. This is the 24th annual year that Radio Dubuque has been involved with the 3rd of July show. It is a combination air-show and fireworks display. The Air Force has estimated our crowd at, well, let’s just say in the tens of thousands. Where is the show located? The central location for the show is down by the Dubuque lock and dam on 1860 Hawthorne St. The firework show starts at 9:45 and typically lasts around 25-30 minutes. The air show runs from about 6:00-8:15.    A bunch of awesome aircraft in one location? [...]

The Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) program is off and running and a lot of people are taking advantage of it.  And who wouldn’t take advantage of it.  Normally if people trade in a “junker” old car or a “rust bucket” they’ll get something like $500 to $2000 on trade.  But with the new Car Allowance Rebate System program, they’re now getting either $3500 or $4500 on those same vehicles.  Now that’s a great deal! So if you’re still rolling down the road in your beat up 1987 Cadillac DeVille Fleetwood Brougham rear-wheel-drive with 277,000 miles, now might be the opportune time to trade in that beauty for a brand new vehicle as the “Cash for Clunkers” program has been approved and will be giving you top dollar for your old gas-guzzling machine. It’s kind of like getting 500 bucks for the suit that you wore to your high school homecoming dance back in 1987 [...]

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:

Ford Syncing is definitely a new thing.  With all of the technology that has been heaped on our generation over the past few years, sometimes it’s hard to keep up with all of the awesome new “stuff”.  He’s that guy. The one that nearly avoids getting into an accident because he’s on his cell phone. In honesty, YOU are probably that guy or girl sometimes yourself — I know I am occasionally. Safety is very important while driving.  I’m quite confident that using a cell phone and texting while driving won’t exactly put a smile on your parents’ faces. It’s a good thing that now you can do those distracting activities you find yourself doing, time and time again, without putting your, or any other, life at danger thanks to Ford Syncing. Released in over twelve of the 2008 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles, the Ford Sync lets those who opt for the system to wirelessly [...]

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.    

So often we see television programs overloaded with commercial after commercial.  And for about the past 8 or 9 years these same commercials have made their way into the movie theaters just to annoy us when we show up early for a flick.  Furthermore, we have have to ask if there is anyone out there who would just like to view a news clip on CNN or Youtube for once without having to watch the preceding commercial.   From the day we posted our first blog entry, it has always been our policy at here Runde Auto Chat to provide you with uninterrupted, good old-fashioned, wholesome, family-oriented blogging.  We haven’t cluttered our blog site with unnecessary and unwarranted advertisements until now … Please take a minute to watch Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as they persuade you to purchase products like Big Red chewing gum.     But seriously folks … If you [...]

Että on siistiä هذا هو بارد  Sehr toll Maravilloso что это здорово C’est magnifique That’s cool … Whatever language you speak, you’ll agree that the 2009 Suzuki Equator is “cool”.     Runde Auto Group has a lot of customers who would like to drive a truck so they can have it handy when they need to haul cargo like tree trimmings or landscaping materials, but a lot of people don’t want to drive a full-size truck and they certainly don’t want to pay for the gas to fill up the tank of a full size truck.  That’s where the Suzuki Equator comes in.  This is a mid-sized truck that is a lot more fuel efficient than a full-size truck (say something like a Ford F-150 or a Ram truck). To get one, or to learn more about how cool the Equator is call us, toll free at 800-947-8633.  The Suzuki [...]

Some ideas are bound to become something great. Case-in-point – the Chevrolet Spark. The vehicle design was based on the Chevrolet Beat “concept car” which was voted most popular in comparison to three other “mini” cars. The car will come with a choice of 1 or 1.2-liter four-cylinder engine. It has a wheelbase of slightly over 93 inches and the vehicle measures 143 inches in length. Smaller than most “mini” cars out there, including the Honda Fit. Safety features will vary but will be expected to include: anti-lock brakes, front and side-air bags, as well as electronic stability control. The Chevrolet Spark will save you some green as the expected 47 miles-per-gallon is one of the best in the industry. I’m personally excited for the vehicle – it looks sleek, seems [...]

The Dubuque Art Center was making good use of the Runde service truck this week. I got a chance to do a question-answer session with Jordan DeGree, founder of the Dubuque Art Center, on his way out of the dealership with our community support vehicle. So Jordan, you are taking the Community support vehicle today, what are you planning on doing with it? Well, the Dubuque Art Center is moving into a new location – the first floor of the Platinum building at 137 Main street. As an art center, we have a lot of rather large equipment like pottery wheels, furniture, shelving… etc. — so having a large vehicle makes that move a whole  lot easier.

GM is now offering a package called GM TOTAL CONFIDENCE and the information below will outline what all is included in this new offering from General Motors. Robert Hughes once said that “perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize”.    Makes sense, eh.  And it sort of serves as a reminder that we always have room for improvement.  However, Mr. Hughes never mentioned anything about Total Confidence.  While perfect confidence stems from one’s ego, Total Confidence originated today with General Motors.  Read on to discover how GM is providing new car buyers with a new level of confidence. GM TOTAL CONFIDENCE Reinventing the ownership experience. Now, whatever life brings, you can approach it with Total Confidence. A special package of services from GM designed [...]

If you’ve been considering purchasing a new Chevy Traverse SUV, but you’re not quite ready to pull the trigger, please read the reviews and quotes below and maybe that’ll be enough to push you over the edge and take the plunge into the world of Chevy Traverse SUV owners. Autoblog:  “Unlike the Highlander, the Traverse actually has some usable space behind its third-row seat. Where the Traverse really shines is its driving dynamics.” Boston Globe:  “It’s sophisticated, yet friendly, edgy without being offensive -attractive.” NY Times:   “The Traverse‟s steering was more responsive than the Pilot‟s, and its shifts were smoother. While the Pilot felt like a big S.U.V., the Traverse acted like a particularly agile minivan —although G.M. has managed to keep the Traverse from looking like one.” Popular Mechanics:    “It looks great, it’s easy to use as a family hauler and, most important to us, it actually provides a rewarding experience from that left [...]

Check out the video below for the 2009 Traverse to see what critics are saying about the ’09 Traverse and some of its features.  The video was produced by Olli Sinno at Runde Chevrolet and I must say he did a nice job with it.  It definitely shows off the new Traverse in a very positive light.   The 2009 Traverse is already being touted as one of the best riding SUV’s on the market.  It definitely has the best cargo storage capacity of any vehicle in its class and it also has the ability to haul around your entire family safely and comfortably.  To get one of these sweet rides stop by Runde’s or call, toll free, 800-947-8633 and we will hook you up with one.

It goes without saying that families want to be assured their loved ones will be protected in the event of a vehicle collision.  Well, Ford Motor Company has developed an insert to measure abdominal injuries on a crash-test dummy that represents a 6-year-old. Made out of silicone, the test dummy is made to study the effects of seat belts in auto accidents. “The major focus [of crash tests] has always been on head and chest injuries,”Ford safety engineer Steve Rouhana said. “We really didn’t have the technology before to accurately measure abdominal response.” Current tests use seat-belts that may be too large for children that have grown out of a child-safety seats (usually around the age of 8). The new silicone dummy can measure the penetration of the seat belts going into the child’s abdomen. Ford studies the results and looks to improve seat-belt designs. In addition, Ford is offering the technology to other manufacturers [...]

The 2010 Ford Taurus made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show and it was an instant hit.  And this chic design may just be what the doctor ordered to resurrect Ford’s flagship model.   It will be heading to the Chicago Auto Show next and is sure to turn heads. Once upon a time (in 1985), Ford introduced the Taurus and it was immediately ridiculed by some critics who said that it resembled a jelly bean or a flying potato.  Nevertheless, the car’s popularity took off as Americans were eager to buy this mid-sized, unique-looking, front wheel drive car.  For five years straight in the 1990’s this aeronautical spud of a car outsold all other cars on the market as sales were in excess of 400,000 Taurus sedans annually.  During the late 90’s and early 2000’s, Taurus sales steadily declined until they discontinued production of the Taurus altogether in 2006.  Some blame the conservative designing [...]

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 [...]

I ran across this vehicle and found it fascinating. Something like this could really have come in handy two nights ago as I was on my way home from Runde Auto Group and stuck in traffic for about 25 minutes while waiting to cross the Julien Dubuque bridge on Highway 20.  Let’s face it … that bridge closes all too often leaving motorists wondering what’s going on and hoping that they won’t be stuck in traffic for too long.  Once you’re stuck, you’re faced with the option of waiting it out and hoping that traffic will start moving quickly in a few minutes … or the alternative of turning around and driving back a couple miles through the Hazel Green township and crossing the Mississippi river using the Wisconsin bridge. Even though the “vehicle” in the video below literally takes off, I’m skeptical if this vehicle invention will really “take off” and become a [...]