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 on-air, but he also had a large heart.
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.
Fuccillo had a big heart and throughout the years donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Salvation Army and the Harry Chapin Food Bank, but he always appeared to be the one receiving rather than giving.
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.
When Fuccillo acquired Robert Goodman’s land and converted it into his Cape Coral Kia car dealership, the two became friends.
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 quickly established himself as a philanthropist by offering free homes and automobiles, as well as free gas days.
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.
I’d want to express my gratitude to Billy Fuccillo of Fuccillo Kia in Cape Coral. In the words of one customer, Sandra Hamblin George, “we had such nice recollections of our excursions to Europe and the Bahamas.” “Thank you, Billy; we’ll miss you.
The Cape Coral and Port Charlotte Fuccillo Kia dealerships were sold to LMP Automotive Holdings, a Delaware-based company, in late 2020.
Fuccillo’s funeral will be conducted in Syracuse, New York on June 24, and you can read his obituary here.
In This Article...
What happened to Billy Fuccillo?
1956 saw the birth of Fuccillo in Greenport, Suffolk County, New York. After earning a marketing degree from Syracuse University in 1978, he worked at a number of auto shops. He went independent and started his own dealership in 1989. His catchphrase, “it’s HUGE!” is frequently repeated in his commercials. Over the years, the company expanded to over 25 dealerships in New York and Florida, selling a variety of brands.[3] Tom Park, Fuccillo’s production director and the straight man in many of the company’s commercials up until 2018, remarked that Fuccillo had originally improvised the line in response to the strong turnout to a sales event, and that the two liked it so much that they .[6]
After months of deteriorating health and battling a chronic illness, Fuccillo passed away in his Florida home on June 17, 2021. Park passed away nearly precisely one year later .[8]
What disease did Billy Fuccillo suffer from?
Fuccillo’s passing was disclosed to members of the Syracuse Auto Dealers Association through email on Friday morning, according to WSTM.
Following a stroke, Fuccillo’s health had deteriorated during the previous year, and he sold the Ruane family his property in Cape Coral, Florida, for $2.25 million, according to the Fort Myers News-Press. At the time of his passing, he was a resident of Sarasota, Florida.
Two dealerships in southwest Florida, located in Port Charlotte and Cape Coral, were sold by Fuccillo last year to the publicly held LMP Automotive Holdings company, according to the newspaper. According to the Albany Times-Union, Fuccillo sold Matthews Auto Group three New York dealerships in the Syracuse area and two in the Rochester area in January 2021.
The advertisements Fuccillo was most famous for on television and radio always ended with a loud voice.
“In an interview with the Times Union in 2008, Fuccillo stated, “My mum says she mutes me when my advertisements come on.”
“William Fitzpatrick, the district attorney for Onondaga County, told WSTM that he was larger than life.
“Kim Perrella, vice president for Auto Shows and Member Relations at the Eastern New York Coalition of Automotive Retailers, Inc., told the Times-Union that he was a big man with a big personality.
Fitzpatrick claimed that Fuccillo, an enthusiastic golfer, attracted attention everywhere he went.
Every time I would play with him and he would make a shot, someone would exclaim, “That was HUGE!” and Billy would wave and smile, as if he were hearing it for the first time, Fitzpatrick told WSTM “Just a wonderful man.
Before earning a degree in marketing, Fuccillo played tight end for the football team at Syracuse University, according to the News-Press. According to the Times-Union, he claimed to be broke and on the verge of being kicked out of his flat after graduation.
Fuccillo told the newspaper, “The only job I could obtain was selling vehicles, and I discovered I was brilliant at it.
According to WKBW, Fuccillo was also renowned for his generosity. Fucillo Automotive provided hundreds of meals at a time to front-line staff at hospitals around Western New York during the COVID-19 outbreak.
People might have laughed at him, but Perrella told the Times-Union, “You know what? That man was one of the sharpest persons I have known because everyone knew his name.
According to the News-Press, Fuccillo organized a Styx performance on his Cape Coral lot in 2012 that attracted thousands of the band’s fans and resulted in the sale of dozens of vehicles.
When he sold 523 automobiles in a single day in 1996, Fuccillo claimed it was his best day as a dealer. According to the press, he invited Evil Knievel’s son Robbie to jump his motorcycle over 19 automobiles in front of the Adams Dealership.
What became to the Fuccillo Kia owner?
Billy Fuccillo, who became famous in the congested world of car dealerships for his catchphrase “It’s going to be huuuuge,” has passed away.
Several media outlets broke the news of Fuccillo’s passing on Friday morning. CNY Central in Syracuse reported that Fuccillo passed away at his home in Florida after months of deteriorating health.
Fuccillo reportedly had more than 25 dealerships at his height, mostly in New York and Florida. This included a sizable business in Adams called the “Fuccillo Automotive Group.” According to CNY Central, he just sold five properties in Rochester and Syracuse.
Bob Simpson of the Adams Fire Department said, “He was a terrific person. I think a lot of people who only saw his commercials didn’t get to know him the way that those of us in the neighborhood did. You know, he was a part of the community.
According to Simpson, Fuccillo made significant contributions to the South Jefferson Central School athletic department as well as the fire department and other neighborhood organizations.
According to a biography on Wikipedia, Fuccillo graduated from Syracuse University in 1978 and was born in Suffolk County in 1957.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been made, but he is survived by his wife Cindy and son Billy Fuccillo Jr., according to CNY Central.
Fuccillo sold his dealerships, right?
Darwish, a former platform manager for Napleton Automotive Group and a minority investor in a New Jersey Audi dealership, claimed that after signing a contract with Fuccillo in August 2020, he experienced a number of delays. Because to COVID-19, his law firm had to close, and Darwish became ill.
Darwish claimed he spent two months on oxygen but made a full recovery. Billy Fuccillo Sr., the CEO of Fuccillo Automotive, passed away in June 2021.
Darwish claimed that over those 20 months, he slept very little as he tried to finalize the agreement by meeting with numerous manufacturers and banks.
He currently employs more than 400 individuals, all “extremely good employees,” according to Darwish.
The crew that came with this contract, he remarked, “is outstanding.” The squad is outstanding as a whole.
Prior to a year or two ago, the Fuccillo Automotive Group owned more than 20 dealerships, but it has since sold many of those locations. Early in 2021, the company sold Matthews Auto Group five dealerships in New York. Then, in March 2021, it sold LMP Automotive Holdings Inc. two Kia dealerships in Florida. It gave Morgan Automotive Group a Nissan dealership in Clearwater, Florida, in August of last year.
Around the time of the Darwish acquisition, Fuccillo Chevrolet-Buick at the Auto Mall in Adams and Fuccillo Chevrolet of Nelliston both closed their doors in New York. The franchises were canceled in late April and early May, according to a GM representative. Darwish bought the land for both locations as part of his deal.
He hopes to apply to revive the Chevrolet store in Adams and plans to use the locations as used-car dealerships.
Since he was 21, Darwish, 50, who claimed to be a college dropout, has dreamed to run a vehicle shop.
He said, “I gave everything to get here. “I put everything at stake to get here.”
He also wants more. Darwish stated that he plans to start searching for additional dealerships before the end of the year in order to expand his current collection of 90+ locations.
According to Darwish, Bob Morris of the Columbus, Ohio-based buy-sell firm Tim Lamb Group handled the seller in the deal.
Caroline returned 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.
In what Florida city did Billy Fuccillo reside?
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.
There will be calling hours from 3 to 7 p.m. At the Thomas J. Pirro Jr. North Syracuse funeral home At 11 a.m., there will be a funeral mass. The following day at Our Lady of Pompei/St. Syracuse’s Saint Peter Church.
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.
Billy Fuccillo’s method?
TAMPA, Fla. According to several accounts, renowned vehicle dealer Billy Fuccillo, whose tagline was “big,” passed away at his home in Florida.
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 has outlets there and in Florida, according to the Times-Union, is the largest privately-owned dealership in New York State. Fuccillo also operated businesses on Grand Island.
Fuccillo was well-known for his charitable activity in addition to his auto dealerships; during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fuccillo Automotive provided front-line hospital staff in Western New York with hundreds of meals at a time.
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.
Kia of Port Charlotte’s owner?
LMP Automotive Holdings, a Delaware-based company, signed a contract to purchase the Fuccillo Kia dealerships in Cape Coral and Port Charlotte.
Bill Fuccillo, the owner of Fuccillo Kia, is highly known in the neighborhood, particularly for his involvement with the Harry Chapin food bank.
The Harry Chapin Food Bank’s president is Richard LeBer. He remarked, “We love him, and we truly value Billy’s and Fucillo Auto Group’s assistance; they’ve been there for us for a long time, and they’ve helped a lot of our friends and neighbors.
Billy Fuccillo and the business were active participants in the annual WINK Feeds Families Hunger Walk, which raises funds to feed neighborhood families.