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.
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How did the Fuccillo dealership fare?
New York’s WATERTOWN (WWNY) – Billy Fuccillo, who became famous in the congested world of auto dealerships for his catchphrase “It’s going to be huuuuge,” has passed away.
Numerous media sites Friday morning announced Fuccillo’s death. Fuccillo passed away at his home in Florida after months of deteriorating health, according to CNY Central in Syracuse.
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.
He was a wonderful man. I believe that many people who only saw his advertisements did not come to know him in the same way that those of us who lived in the region did. Bob Simpson from the Adams Fire Department remarked, “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 was born in 1957 in Suffolk County. In 1978, he received his degree from Syracuse University.
According to CNY Central, he is survived by his wife Cindy and son Billy Fuccillo Jr. Details of the funeral are still being withheld.
The Kia Fuccillo person is missing.
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.
What happened to Fuccillo’s Tom Park?
Hey folks, Tom Park here,” the catchphrase he used in years of television advertisements for vehicle sales titan Billy Fuccillo, entered living rooms in upstate New York. Tom Park passed away.
In the 2000s, Park, a Texas native with a broadcasting production company, acted as Fuccillo’s sidekick in radio and TV commercials for automobile sales. He frequently appeared in commercials with Caroline Renfro, a screen name she went by.
Jenny Park, Park’s 48-year-old wife, commented on her blog about his passing on June 19, CNY Central reported on Tuesday. According to the television station, he was 69.
The woman wrote on Facebook, “My man, Tom Park, married to for 48 years, rock and rolled for our best younger years, had two sons who brought him the most joy in life, a proud Papa to his 5 granddaughters, car commercial G.O.A.T., hottest guitarist, puppy to his kitty, lover of fishing and golf, passed away today from cancer at 6:21pm surrounded by family.” Thank you for the love, music, laughs, and the craziest journey of a marriage ever, darling! My eyes will always look for you among a crowd of people.
In a profile of Park by the Associated Press from two decades ago, it was mentioned that he would record advertisements for automotive markets across the nation one after the other in a single day, noting that he would “tear through 21 spots in an hour without a flub.”
Regarding the number of commercials he taped throughout the years, Park stated in the 2002 story, “In my resume I put 50,000, but I know it’s above 100,000.” I don’t include that since no one ever believes it.
When Park first received the chance to appear in a car commercial in 1981, he was a young musician (his wife was the band’s lead singer) and was attempting to get into broadcasting.
As of 2019, when he last published a commercial to his YouTube channel Tom Park Media, Park stated that he would continue to appear in Fuccillo advertisements.
Fuccillo, a charismatic figure who was also well-known for his philanthropy, passed away in June 2021 at the age of 65. The largest privately held dealership in the state, Fuccillo Automotive Group, was headquartered in Syracuse and has locations throughout upstate New York and in Florida. The group started selling the business and splitting up last year.
What ailment 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.
“He was a large man. He had a strong personality, according to Kim Perrella, vice president of member relations and auto shows for the Eastern New York Coalition of Automotive Retailers, Inc.
Fitzpatrick claimed that Fuccillo, an enthusiastic golfer, attracted attention everywhere he went.
Every time we played and he made a shot, someone would exclaim, “That was HUGE! According to Fitzpatrick, Billy would wave and smile as if he were hearing it for the first time. “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.
“Selling automobiles was the only employment I could find, Fuccillo admitted to the newspaper. “I discovered I was proficient 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 could make fun of him, but what the heck? Because everyone knew his name, that man was among the smartest men I have ever met, Perrella told the Times-Union.” In terms of marketing, he did an excellent job.
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.
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.
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.
Where is the funeral for Billy Fuccillo?
On Friday, June 25, 2021, at 11:00 a.m., a Funeral Mass will be held at Our Lady of Pompei/St. Peter Church, 301 Ash St., Syracuse, NY, in honor of Billy. In the mausoleum of Woodlawn Cemetery, a private interment will take place.
What became of that big guy?
Billy Fuccillo established his first auto business in 1989. Many individuals had done it throughout the years, but it didn’t take Billy long to prove to the world that he was genuinely unique in the auto dealership industry. It didn’t take long for that one dealership to grow into a sizeable empire. It was VERY, VERY, LARGE. Billy would certainly say that.
More than 25 dealerships are currently owned by the Fuccillo Automotive Group in Florida and New York. In addition to selling cars, he has actually evolved into something of an icon. He has made numerous appearances in radio and television advertising, often quoting his catchphrase “It’s HUGE!” Billy, though, has reportedly been missing for months without explanation. What happened to Billy Fuccillo is a question that is starting to circulate.