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]
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.
“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.
Fuccillo was it sold by Kia?
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.
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.
Who now controls the Fuccillo dealerships?
COLONIEA
Many of the nearby Fuccillo auto stores are being taken over by a new high-energy car salesman with a slogan.
Many of the Fuccillo stores in the Capital Region and other regions of upstate have been acquired by Walid “Wally” Darwish, a rising auto dealer based in New Jersey.
Since Billy Fuccillo, a former Syracuse football star who built a vehicle marketing empire with his distinctive “yuuuuuuge-jahhh,” or “big,” tagline at the conclusion of ads, passed away in 2021, Fuccillo has been selling off its dealerships.
The son of Billy Fuccillo, who now owns Fuccillo, recently sold Darwish four local dealerships. Although the deal’s terms were not disclosed, county real estate records show that Darwish obtained mortgages for the homes totaling tens of millions of dollars. East Greenbush, Colonie, and Amsterdam shops are among them.
Darwish, who shares Fuccillo’s flamboyant demeanor, has his own catchphrase that is based on his moniker Wally: “Whoo-hoo!”
Although TV stations in other cities run by Fuccillo and a national trade magazine were the first to announce the original transactions, the Albany Business Review was the first local publication to report on the deals.
Darwish could not immediately be reached for comment, but the business announced the acquisition in a post on Facebook on April 29 that appeared on several pages, including the former Fuccillo Ford of East Greenbush page. Now it’s East Greenbush’s Wally’s Ford.
“The next chapter of our tale begins when we team up with a business that shares our enthusiasm for buying, selling, and maintaining cars. Watch this space to see where our innovation and progress take us next “Wayel Algabyali, the general manager, wrote. “Fuccillo has played a huge role in the community we serve for the past 20 years. Despite the name change, the dedication is more steadfast than ever at this moment.”
In what Florida city did Billy Fuccillo reside?
ADAMS
According to a story in the media, William B. “Billy Fuccillo, who started his prosperous chain of car dealerships in Adams, has sold a house in Cape Coral, Florida, and one of his businesses in Fort Meyers, Florida.
The proprietor of Fuccillo Automotive Group, Mr. Fuccillo, sold his three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom, 4,400-square-foot waterfront property in southwest Cape Coral for $2.5 million in October, according to a report in The Fort Meyers Free Press on Friday.
Kevin Ruane, a self-made millionaire, an 11-year mayor of Sanibel Island, and a recently elected Lee County commissioner, was revealed as the buyer by the Florida newspaper. Ruane intends to utilize the property as an investment and perhaps as his own house in the future.
The newspaper further states that Mr. Fuccillo paid LMP Automotive Holdings, Plantation, Florida, $36 million for his Fort Meyers Kia business. According to the survey, that business has been named the best-selling Kia dealership worldwide.
In Adams, Mr. Fuccillo established his first dealership in 1989. In addition to the 27 locations spread across New York and Florida, he still runs dealerships in the cities of Adams and Watertown.