Runde Auto Chat

When Michael Jordan originally stepped away from basketball to pursue his dream of playing pro baseball, Chicago Bulls fans cried out in a collective agony that was heard and felt around the globe. When he returned to the Bulls a year and a half later, he picked up where he left off and helped to provide Chicago with three more NBA titles.

In the same accord, when Ryne Sandberg announced his initial retirement from the Chicago Cubs in '94, Cubs fans collectively grieved like they had lost one of their own sons. A few years later when Ryne had his life back together and returned to the team, the Cubs turned the ship around and won three straight World Series titles. (We can all dream, can't we?)

Today General Motors announced that Bob Lutz will return to work with the company and that his new role "will extend beyond new cars and trucks". GM fans should definitely feel overcome with a sense of jubilation knowing that Mr. Lutz is back on the job again.

He had stepped away from the company for the past 16 months to devote more time to his family and person life and I imagine that both he and GM came to the mutual consensus that his ultimate place is behind the wheel steering the ship of Product Development at GM.

Lutz has had a long and successful run in the automotive industry and he is one of the most respected men in his field. (A modern day Harley Earl for X & Y Gen people). Over the last few years, he's had a hand in the design of overwhelmingly popular new GM models like the Chevy Equinox, Chevy Cruze, Buick Enclave, and the Chevy Volt (all of which are far cries from the 1996 Buick Skylark and Olds Achieva). And the Lutz navigational compass of design has helped to guide GM back into profitability and industry leadership status once again.

I imagine, Bob Lutz's situation was akin to that of both Jordan and Sandberg. Each man had other things that they wanted to do with their lives for a spell even though they were still in their primes and producing stellar results for their respective organizations. However after awhile, each was ultimately drawn back to their "sport of choice" and they were all welcomed back with open arms.

We at Runde Chevrolet would like to say, "Welcome back Bob!!! We missed you. And please know that we expect great thing from you in the future."

(*Please note that there was no mention of Brett Favre in this article even though he also retired from and then returned to professional football many, many, many, many times. )

An interview by Popular Mechanics with Bob Lutz at his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan after his initial retirement.

Buick officially unveiled the 2012 Verano today at the North American International Auto Show. Is it a winner? Let us know what you think.

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 to be the name that Buick has bestowed upon it's new small luxury car that is to be released a little later this year. So much for the Spanish lesson, now more about the car...

GM just released photos of the new 2012 Verano that is due to make its debut at the North American International Auto Show in a few days.

This has probably been a long time coming, but Buick finally has the smaller car that they needed and that their patrons deserve. Buick always did well with making bigger cars that got great fuel mileage -- GM's legendary 3.8 Liter engine was largely responsible for that. I started out working in a Buick dealership right around the turn of the Millennium and I remember quite vividly that my Buick LeSabre customers would often brag (and rightfully so) about the gas mileage the got from their cars. We also sold compact foreign cars at that dealership, but my LeSabre customers spoke far more often and far more admirably about their cars' fuel efficiency that my customers who had smaller cars.

I remember around the end of they year 2000, when GM announced that they would stop making Oldsmobiles, there were many folks out there who hoped that GM would produce a Buick version of the Olds Alero. Back then, the smallest car that Buick offered was the Century, which was classified as a mid-size car. From 2000 to 2005 the Buick Century was equipped with a 3.1 Liter V-6 engine that produced 175 horsepower. The 2012 Verano, in comparison, will house a 2.4 Liter Ecotec engine that produces 177 HP. Modern technology now allows GM to produce smaller and more lightweight engines that produce more power and more torque. The result is better fuel efficiency and customers who pay less at the pumps. Even for those out there who claim to absolutely despise new technology ... I'm quite certain that they would relish the opportunity to visit the gas stations less frequently and drive away with more cash in their pockets.

The Verano is a far cry from an Alero and it was well worth the wait for Buick fans as they have been waiting for a luxury small car for a long time. The car is set to be produced in Orion, Michigan and will be available later this year.

Remember: "El verano es mucho más cerca de lo que crees."

Wishing everyone a safe and jubilant 4th of July weekend. If you don't have plans for the weekend yet, there's still time to make them. If you're just not the plannin' type ... well, we hear ya. It's casual.

 All four of the Runde Auto Group locations will be closed on Monday the 5th of July in honor of the National Holiday. We'll reopen again for business on Tuesday the 6th, but remember that you can access our inventory 24/7 at www.RundeAutoGroup.com

Ed Whitacre, the CEO of General Motors, annouced that GM has paid back all of the borrowed money in full to the government with interest. This gigantic announcement demonstrates a level of confidence within the company that has surfaced mainly due to a slimmed down product line, a more refined company focus, and exciting new products like the Chevy Equinox, the Chevy Camaro, and the Buick LaCrosse that are selling almost as quickly as they arrive on dealers' lots.

With this move, they are basically saying that they wholeheartedly believe GM is now on the right track to profitibility. And here at Runde Chevrolet and Runde Buick, we know without-a-doubt that GM is back on track and ready for the road ahead. The tank is full, the engine is hummin', and the GPS is set ... Destination ... Success. Full speed ahead.

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