Q. How do you pronounce Kizashi?
A. "Kee-Zah-Shee"
Q: Where can I find one?
A. Runde Suzuki in Hazel Green, WI.
Q. How much do they cost?
A. The ones we have in stock range from $22,489 to $24,814.
Q. How do they ride?
A. Stop in for a test-drive and judge for yourself.
Q. Where?
A. Runde Suzuki in Hazel Green, WI.
Q. Who can I call?
A. Call Beau Blocklinger at the Suzuki store at 866-396-6832. 
Q. What can he do? A. He can show you a new Kizashi.
Mandi Pedretti from Dubuque, IA stopped in the other day to pick up a vehicle she has been eyeballing for awhile. While she was here and waiting for her paperwork, I asked her if she could share with me her experience. This is what she had to say:
How did you find Runde Auto Group?
I've been over here before and my boyfriend's parents live in East Dubuque so we drive by here all the time.
Did you know your salesman, Al Kloft?
No, not before today.
How did you end up with Al? I went through the lot a couple of times looking at some vehicles and went home to do some more research online. He called me back after I requested a vehicle online.
What did you think of Al?
He's nice, good person to work with. He's got a good personality.
If you were to rank Runde's on a scale of 1-10, what would you give it?
Probably a 9, no problems really.
What vehicle did you end up getting today?
An '08 Saturn Vue.
What will the car be used for?
Well I just needed something a little bigger than what I had.
What did you have?
A Saturn Aura - very small car.
Are you married?
Nope, but I'm engaged.
Congratulations! Do you know the wedding date?
*laughs* oh no, not yet.
Do you have a favorite movie?
Hmm... maybe Titanic.
Classic. Have you seen his new one - Avatar?
No, but I heard good things.
Yea, it's pretty awesome. In-fact, it was the only movie to pass Titanic's box-office sales. Figures James Cameron made both of the best selling movies.
Haha, he must be well off.
Favorite music?
Mostly hip-hop.
If there was one invention you couldn't live without, what would it be?
A microwave.
If you were to win $80 million from the lottery, what would you do with the money?
I would travel around the area and see anything
I wanted to see.
Would you still work or just take it easy? Nah, I think I'd just enjoy it.
Where do you work now? At Kwik Stop in Dubuque.
Would you recommend Runde's to friends and family?
Oh sure. My boyfriend's parents just bout a van from Al about a month ago, actually.
Great, hope they are enjoying it and I hope you enjoy your new Vue as well!
Suffering from unintended acceleration? Afraid of "what's next" in terms of recalls on your vehicle? Now is the perfect time to swap that lemon for some grade-A lemonade with the umbrella and all. With the Ford Swap program you can get some unbelievable deals on top of your trade for a vehicle that is sure to take your breath away. This is how it works: 1. You are finding that your current vehicle is a bit sub-par for your liking. 2. You trade in your vehicle. 3. You get an additional 0% APR PLUS $1,000 Cash Back for trading in your old vehicle. There are some vehicles excluded from the list of eligible cars that you can get with the incentive, but nowhere on that list is the Mustang (excluding the Shelby Mustang). You could be trading in your current turtle and burning some affordable rubber in your near future! But make sure not to get too comfy in your current ride if you are considering this offer, as the incentive ends at the end of next month.
Click here to visit the Ford site for official rules and details.
Who doesn't like the new Camaro? It's got everything you need in a car: power, class and, without mention, STYLE. They took this baby to a whole new level in 2010 and the critics definitely took notice. Announced at the New York Auto Show, the Camaro earned its honors as the 2010 World Car Design of the Year over fellow finalists Citroen C3 Picasso and the Kia Soul.
"In recreating this modern sports car, we have proven that people are just as passionate about Chevy as ever," shared Michael Simcoe, Chevrolet design director. 
"We have been delighted about the strong reaction to the Camaro — even in markets that are new to Chevy, it has been creating an emotional appeal for the brand," he added. There you have it folks, you want the best in world class style? Go with the Camaro.
Jordan Degree, of the Dubuque Art Center, was in this week to pick up a vehicle for the Art Center. Last year I had the opportunity to get to know Jordan and learn about what the Art Center offered the community. This year we got an update from Jordan about what’s happening with the Art Center and what they have planned for the vehicle they purchased.
Hey Jordan, last year you were here to borrow the Community Support Truck for the Art Center, right? How did it work out for you?
Yes, we were moving to our new location at 137 Main Street in Dubuque - we are on the first floor. That was actually the second time we used the community vehicle, though. The first time we used it was for a fund-raising event that ended up rising over $3,000 for us. It's a fantastic truck, we recently used it to collect pieces of artwork which were salvaged doors transformed by artists. 
Can you give us a quick refresher course on what the Art Center offers? Absolutely, at the Art Center we have several different art education programs for adults and kids. We do all sorts of different classes, both at the center and through outreach programs in the community. We have both tuition based classes and a number of free programs and we're always trying to increase the number of free programs we offer. We also support local artists and provide a variety of resources for artists and organizations so they can improve their ability to increase creativity. "Community through Creativity" that's our slogan and that kind of drives everything we do. We also do several public art events. Not just art-shows but, for example, this summer we have an eight-weekend art market along the riverwalk in Dubuque which will have several art vendors selling their artwork, kind of like an artist’s farmer's market.
I hear that the Art Center now has a store?
Yes, the Art Center Design Store offers functional products for your home and yourself. All of the proceeds from the store benefit our free community programs. So it's like a way for us to have a constant fundraiser as well as a way for local artists to sell their work.
Are there any costs to join the Art Center?
There are some classes that you pay for but a lot of our courses are free. We do offer tuition assistance for those who can't afford the full class price. It's about helping people be creative and we don't want money to stand in the way of that. 
What kind of “outside of the classroom” events do you offer?
We do "paint your own pottery" which is fun for scout troops, birthday parties, ladies nights and family nights... We have pre-made pottery that you glaze and fire and take home. Other than a small traveling fee, all they pay for is the price of the piece and that's it. As part of our outreach program we offer a free family art night on Tuesday's and a Teen art program on Friday's. We are also going to be doing free art Saturday's at the library that will be part of their summer reading program. We really try to bring the families together to do the art so the kids can bond and maybe see their parents in a different way than they might be used to around the house. We also will have a summer camp this summer where we are offering 16 different sessions that will cost only $25 for four days.
How many members do you have going to the Art Center?
Last year we served maybe 300 students in our classes This year we are looking at service to over 1,200. In terms of our public art events, we are looking at drawing in an audience between 30-40 thousand people.
What vehicle did you end up going with today for the Art Center?
We ended up going with an HHR. We are really happy to have the support of Runde Chevrolet to purchase the Art Center's first vehicle which really allows us to increase the amount of outreach we do and help us transport our materials. We are also doing a video program this summer with kids and the HHR will help us get the children to, and from, the filming sites. We will be doing a full vehicle wrap on the HHR for the Art Center. I'm excited to show you guys what it looks like after we apply the wrap! 
I'm very excited to see it, as well. It's great what you are doing to expand the artistic reach of the Tri-State community. We are glad that we can help out such a great organization.
Stay tuned to see pictures of the HHR in the full vehicle wrap! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK7XYweStLo]
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