Billy Fuccillo’s booming voice can be heard on the radio, on television, or on the lot if you live in Southwest Florida or close to one of his other dealerships.
According to his dealership, Fuccillo, 65, passed away on Friday, June 18, following months of deteriorating health.
It’s going to be huuuuuge! was Fuccillo’s catchphrase. he has a great heart as well. on-air.
Along with running the Fuccillo Automotive Group, he frequently gave to charity, including $100,000 in 2019 for the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida to help fight local hunger.
Every time Fuccillo gave a gift, he appeared to be the recipient rather than the giver. Fuccillo was quite compassionate. Over the years, he donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to both the Salvation Army and the Harry Chapin Food Bank.
Billy had a reputation for unexpectedly calling and stating, “Hey, I’ve got something for you. And as a result of that, Richard LeBer, CEO of the Harry Chapin Food Bank, stated, “You know, he fed many thousands of people in Southwest Florida.” “I believe that the word “big” will simply become part of everyday speech for a very long time to come.
Fuccillo knew Robert Goodman as a buddy. When Fuccillo converted Goodman’s land into his Cape Coral Kia vehicle business, the two came into contact.
He was anxious about it, according to Goodman. “He phoned me Bobby, Bobby, and he said, ‘This doesn’t work, I need you to purchase it back from me, I want to, I want to get a money-back guarantee, and I was so convinced that it would work.'”
Fuccillo became a philanthropist quite quickly. He began giving away free homes and automobiles. Free gas day was also observed.
According to Goodman, “He was you know, he had this presence on TV. “But when you got to know him, he was really, you know, a humble man.
Sandra Hamblin George, a customer, stated, “I want to thank Billy Fuccillo from Fuccillo Kia of Cape Coral. We had such lovely memories of our trips to Europe and the Bahamas. ” Billy, you are appreciated and will be missed.
The Cape Coral and Port Charlotte Fuccillo Kia dealerships were sold to LMP Automotive Holdings, a Delaware-based company, in late 2020.
Visit this link to view Fuccillo’s obituary. On June 24, his funeral will take place in Syracuse, New York.
In This Article...
The Kia Carson’s owner?
In its recent sale of Carson Kiathe company’s highest volume Kia dealership in the United States since 2016to southern California-based Trophy Automotive Dealer Group, Kerrigan Advisors represented and counseled Car Pros Automotive Group (TADG).
The dealership’s brand-new, cutting-edge facility, which was opened in 2017 and is 72,000 square feet, is a flagship in OEM’s nationwide distribution network, according to Kerrigan Advisors. With this arrangement, TADG will have acquired its fifth dealership in recent years in southern California.
“Our family had to make a significant decision about this. According to Matthew Phillips, chief executive officer of Car Pros Automotive Group and the son of the company’s founder and chairman, Ken Phillips, “While we have no intention of leaving the auto industry, we felt that selling our large Kia store in Carson made sense, both for our family and for the strategic direction of the group.
Car Pros Automotive Group also has six dealerships in southern California and northwest Washington in addition to the Carson location.
More than any other retailer, the Phillips family has sold over 100,000 Kia vehicles in the United States.
According to company founder Ken Phillips, “I founded my first dealership in 1984 in Des Moines, Washington, on the principles of honesty and integrity. “As I reflect, we have adhered to those values in all we have done over the past 35 years.
Ken Phillips continued, “I am pleased to announce that our most recent transaction was handled in the same manner.
The skills we required to move our Group into the next stage of Car Pros automotive retail was greatly aided by Kerrigan Advisors.
“I would want to express my gratitude to Kerrigan Advisors for expertly leading us through this process. According to Matthew Phillips, they provide empathy, a thorough awareness of the present (and future) automotive landscape, and help at every stage. They actually comprehend everything a seller goes through.
The dealership is among Kia’s top sellers of certified pre-owned automobiles in addition to churning new metal.
According to Ryan Kerrigan, managing director of Kerrigan Advisors, “Ken and his family are the top Kia merchants in the United States and have been a significant part of that brand’s success on the West Coast, which is also one of the most demanding and cutting-edge automotive markets in the world. “In processing this deal, we put a lot of emphasis on that inventive attitude from the beginning. This is the pinnacle of the KIA brand, and we were pleased to give Carson Kia the appropriate representation.
We were honored to represent the Phillips family on this significant transaction, said Erin Kerrigan, managing director of Kerrigan Advisors.
She continued, “We have enjoyed working with the Phillips family to design their game plan for the next leg of their group’s expansion, as this is a milestone dealership in the Kia network.
We congratulate Trophy Automotive Dealer Group for expanding its list of Southern California stores to include Carson Kia.
Scali Rasmussen’s Gus Paras and Bert Rasmussen provided legal advice to the Car Pros Automotive Group. Trophy Automotive Dealer Group had legal representation from Aaron Jacoby of Arent Fox.
What ever become of the enormous automobile salesman?
SYRACUSE
The man who used a HUUUUUUUGE! on-air persona to promote fantastic discounts at his extensive network of car dealerships has passed away.
Billy Fuccillo passed suddenly on Thursday in Sarasota, Florida, after a protracted illness, his attorney told news sites in the Syracuse area on Friday. He was 65.
After graduating from Syracuse University, Fuccillo, a native of Long Island, remained in the region and established a network of dealerships in his honor.
Everyone would recognize a Fuccillo advertisement as one, regardless of whether they liked it or found it irritating.
The man’s physical stature, his voice, his attitude, his drive, his inventory, and the offers he promised clients were just a few of the significant things about him and his company.
Fuccillo said to The Gazette in 2009 that the term originated with a casual remark made to Tom Park of Tom Park Media, who occasionally worked with him in advertisements.
“It’s tremendous, Tom, I just turned to you one day and said. It’s enormous,’ Fuccillo exclaimed, and it blew up from there.
The showmanship appeared to please him. The majority of America pronounces the term as “huge,” whereas the New York City metro area occasionally pronounces it as “yooge.”
“Huge was hype, but it was memorable and truthful hype: His dealerships generated a lot of business.
The largest privately owned auto retailer in New York and the largest Kia dealer in the world, according to Fuccillo’s obituary, is Fuccillo Automotive Group.
At his auto mall near Watertown, Fuccillo once sold 500 vehicles in a single day, setting records for the most Hyundai and Kia sales in a month.
With success and celebrity came significant income, and Fuccillo earned a reputation for giving as well.
In 2017, Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy presented Fuccillo with the city’s keys in appreciation for the positive economic and charitable impact he had made in the area. Other areas also received similar support.
Domestic abuse prevention, the Salvation Army, the Center for Disability Services, the Quest For Grace Foundation, and the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern NY were just a few of the many, many causes and organizations he sponsored.
He supplied hundreds of meals at a time to front-line medical staff at hospitals in western New York during the worst of the COVID pandemic.
Fuccillo Kia’s current owner?
Billy Fuccillo, an auto dealer, has sold the Matthews Auto Group in Vestal his three businesses in the Syracuse area and two in the Rochester area. On Wednesday, Matthews made the announcement that it had purchased Fuccillo Kia, Fuccillo Nissan, and Fuccillo Hyundai, all of which were located on Route 31 in Clay and Syracuse, respectively.
Billy Fuccillo Sr. died, did he not?
This week in Syracuse, funeral services will be performed for Billy Fuccillo, owner of a car dealership.
William Bruce Fuccillo Sr., who was well-known for his commercials promising “substantial” savings, passed away on Thursday at his home in Sarasota, Florida. Fuccillo’s death, according to CNY Central, came after a protracted illness. He was 65.
On Thursday, there will be calling hours from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Thomas J. Pirro Jr. Funeral Home in North Syracuse. On Friday at 11 a.m., Syracuse’s Our Lady of Pompei/St. Peter Church will host a funeral mass.
The Fuccillo Automotive Group, which was well-known for its ongoing marketing campaign of “massive” discounts, was led by Fuccillo, who also served as president and COO. According to the company’s website, it has 21 dealerships in Florida and New York. The company, based in Syracuse, declined to comment.
Fuccillo is a Long Island native who graduated from Syracuse University and was an All-American football player. After graduating, Fuccillo started selling automobiles and discovered he was really excellent at it, according to an Albany Times-Union article.
According to the newspaper, he acquired his first wholesale auto business in 1981 and his first new store in Adams, which is close to Watertown, in 1989.
According to his obituary, Fuccillo was immensely pleased of selling 500 vehicles in a single day at the Fuccillo AutoMall in Jefferson County and 2020 vehicles in a single month at Fuccillo Hyundai of Syracuse.
Fuccillo, who was a philanthropist as well, was best known for his radio and television advertisements, where he claimed his catchphrase, “It’s going to be huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge.”
Fuccillo was a sports fanatic and racehorse owner who also enjoyed golfing, fine dining, and wine.
Fuccillo received $2.25 million for the sale of his estate in Cape Coral, Florida, last year. Additionally, he recently sold a number of dealerships, including two Fuccillo Kia dealerships in Florida in March and five New York dealerships, including two in Greece, in January. He quit making advertisements last year because his health had gotten worse over the previous 12 months.
His wife Cindy and son Billy Jr., the current head of the Fuccillo Automotive Group, are his only surviving family members. His parents, siblings, and other family members are still alive.
Caroline went back to Fuccillo Kia, but why?
Back in 2017, she left her position. Then Billy Fuccillo sponsored a competition to choose Caroline’s replacement, and McKinzie Roth won. Billy claimed Caroline called him and requested to return.
Billy Fuccillo sold his auto dealership, right?
WATERTOWN
The world of north country auto dealerships has seen a significant upheaval.
Nearly a year after William B. “Billy Fuccillo’s passing, his local auto dealerships have been sold.
A Mitsubishi dealership in Watertown as well as Ford, Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep dealerships in Adams have been sold by Fuccillo Automotive Group.
According to Kevin Hadley, sales manager for the Fuccillo Auto Group, the purchase excludes Fuccillo Import in Watertown and Fuccillo Chevrolet in Adams.
He indicated the future of the Chevy location would become apparent in three to six months, but the new owner was not interested in the import dealership.
Wally’s Auto Group, whose New Jersey and Long Island businesses are owned by Wally Darwish, is taking over.
His first name will appear in the title of the dealerships for the New York showrooms. For instance, Wally’s Ford of Adams will be there.
Mr. Hadley stated, “I spent 22 years working for Billy.
I’m reminded of Billy by (Wally). He is a fantastic person.
The employees of Fuccillo have been through a difficult period since his passing in June, as they have grieved and worried about the company’s future.
Employees were able to breathe easier, he claimed. “I believe that the employees I spoke with are most motivated.
Mr. Fuccillo’s health deteriorated over time, and he passed away at age 65. He gained notoriety for his television advertisements in which he advertised his company with the slogan “It’s huuuuge. When he established his first dealership on Adams’ Route 11 in 1989, he officially began building his automobile empire.
Mr. Fuccillo sold dealerships in Florida and New York before his passing. However, the car group had 20 additional locations spread out over the two states.
The selling of the nearby Fuccillo dealerships is one of Wally’s 10 acquisitions in New York. The cost of the purchase was kept secret.
Other dealerships in Seneca Falls, Amsterdam, Schenectady, Latham, East Greenbush, and Nelliston included those for Mitsubishi, Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Ford, and Nissan.
Wally’s is “New York’s Newest Car Shopping Destination,” claims the business’ website.
William B. Fuccillo, the son of Mr. Fuccillo, has continued to serve as the group’s president.
Billy Fuccillo’s method?
Tamp, Florida
According to numerous sources, renowned auto salesman Billy Fuccillo, whose watchword was “big,” passed away at his Florida home.
According to CNY Central, Fuccillo’s death, which apparently occurred after a protracted illness, was verified by the Syracuse Auto Dealers Association.
His Syracuse-based Fuccillo Automotive Group, which also has sites in Florida, is said to be the biggest privately-owned dealership in New York State, according to the Times-Union. Additionally, Fuccillo had auto stores in Grand Island.
Fuccillo had a reputation for being a philanthropist in addition to running auto businesses. Fuccillo Automotive provided hundreds of meals at a time to front-line staff at hospitals around Western New York during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Billy Fuccillo Jr., his wife Cindy, and the 64-year-old man who formerly played football at Syracuse University are his only surviving family members.