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...
What happened to Billy Fuccillo?
1956 saw the birth of Fuccillo in Greenport, Suffolk County, New York. He earned a marketing degree from Syracuse University in 1978. [1] After graduating from college, he worked at several auto lots. He went independent and started his own dealership in 1989. Over the years, the company expanded to have over 25 dealerships in Florida and New York. [2] distributing a range of brands. [3] His catchphrase, “It’s HUGE!” is frequently used throughout his advertising. [4] [5] Tom Park, who served as Fuccillo’s production director and the straight man in many of the company’s advertisements up until 2018, remarked that the line was first improvised by Fuccillo in response to the large turnout at a sales event. The two liked it so much that they adopted it as their trademark from that point forward. [6]
On June 17, 2021, Fuccillo passed away in his Florida home after months of deteriorating health and a protracted illness.
[7] Almost precisely one year later, Park passed away. [8]
A sale of Fuccillo Kia has occurred?
Billy Fuccillo, a famed car dealer, passed away at the age of 65, ten years after Southwest Florida first felt his imposing presence.
According to CNY Central, the Syracuse Auto Dealers Association informed its members via email on Friday morning of Fuccillo’s passing.
Percy Vaughn, a Kia executive, and many others remember Fuccillo as a legendary vehicle salesman who always thought of others.
“Billy was a trailblazer. He accomplished feats that other auto dealers only imagine. Although he appeared in those advertisements, he was always giving back to the community “says he. “Man, Billy was a legend. Billy won’t ever be replaced.”
His Fuccillo Kia of Cape Coral was sold in March for $13.1 million, bringing an extravagant era that included rock concerts, cruise giveaways, and broken lease agreements to an end.
Fuccillo sold his Cape Coral house to Kevin Ruane’s family trust for $2.25 million last year after realizing that his health had deteriorated over the previous year. Kevin Ruane is a Lee County Commissioner and the former mayor of Sanibel.
He first gained notoriety in Southwest Florida because to his Pine Island Road Kia store and its advertisements that included his characteristic “Huuu-ja!” and pitch partner Caroline Renfro. After a short while, the Korean-owned corporation named his Kia dealership the best-selling in the entire world.
Long before the Pine Island Road boom, when Cape Coral was the focus of the national housing crash, and in a Southwest Florida still reeling from the Great Recession, he gambled on property that housed an abandoned Saturn dealership. He defended the dealership’s practice of catering to consumers with low credit ratings and didn’t hesitate to offer cars to individuals getting over the crisis.
Kia-branded automobiles have quickly climbed into the top 10 of new car sales in Lee County since the Fuccillo Kia car dealership debuted in December 2010.
“How are you going to finance people?” In a 2017 News-Press story, Fuccillo posed the question. “I believe we made a lot of efforts to help the neighborhood turn itself around, and they in turn assisted us. We’re here to sell automobiles, that’s what we do.”
He was the well-known figure in Southwest Florida, the one with the welcoming smile you could just walk up to and strike up a conversation with.
Sue Smith of North Naples, who met Fuccillo at a Ruth’s Chris Steak House happy hour in Estero a few years ago, is one who did exactly that. He was cordial and kind as Smith excitedly approached him to introduce himself. She remarked, “I was so happy to have met him, and I constantly tell people that he was really different in person from how he appeared on television. Smith intends to toast him when he eventually makes it back to the eatery.
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.
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.
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.
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 greatly appreciate Billy and Fucillo Auto Group’s assistance. They have long been our supporters and have generously supported many 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.
Did Fuccillo play football in college?
Billy Fuccillo, the charismatic owner of a New York-based car dealership who was well-known for his advertisements, passed away on Thursday in Sarasota, Florida. He was 65.
Fuccillo was made famous for using the word “massive” in exaggerated car advertising, but those who knew and loved him best remember him for his less well-known altruistic side.
Fuccillo laboriously and painstakingly grew a national car industry empire. The largest privately held auto retailer in the state and the largest Kia dealer in the world, the Fuccillo Automotive Group, was where he held the positions of president and chief executive officer.
Near Watertown, in Adams, the franchise got its start. He left behind aftershocks that reverberated in New York, where he had a profound effect. The neighborhood is becoming increasingly aware of his quiet manner away from the spotlight and his covert compassion.
For years, Fuccillo would begin his day at Tonys Family Restaurant, which was close to one of his Syracuse dealerships. The proprietor of Tony’s and Fuccillo’s friend, Tony Albanese, is aware of Fuccillo’s routine.
According to Albanese, “He would arrive around the same time I would.” “morning at seven. We would take a seat and chat for hours. Here, he met several of his friends. His marketing personnel were also present in the morning.”
Fuccillo is credited by Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick for being the first to significantly donate to the Forman Park-based Syracuse Police Memorial for Fallen Officers, which was established in 2002. He remembered Fuccillo as a very kind, humorous, and kind man.
“He helped so many people in the background without ever looking for recognition. He will be sorely missed, Fitzpatrick said.
The Sisters of St. Francis Assumption Food Pantry and the Ronald McDonald House were among the nonprofits that benefited from the generosity of the private philanthropist.
Billy Fuccillo was very kind. He contributed a lot to this neighborhood. His absence will be felt, “Member of the Syracuse Auto Dealers Association’s board Mike Romano spoke.
He was a great man “stated Albanese. “One day, as I’m sitting here, two men wheel in a TV that I received as a friendship gift from him. He was just a very kind man.
His absence will be felt in this community, “Albanese went on. “He and my brother and I were extremely close friends, and we will both miss him terribly.
The Thomas J. Pirro Junior Funeral Home in Liverpool will host a wake from 3 to 7 p.m. on June 24. On June 25, Our Lady of Pompeii Church in Syracuse will host a funeral Mass at 11 a.m.