Iconic Kia car salesman, philanthropist Billy Fuccillo has died

If you live in Southwest Florida or near one of Billy Fuccillo’s other dealerships, you’ve heard his booming voice – on radio, on TV, or on the lot.

On Friday, June 18, Fuccillo, 65, died after months of declining health, according to his dealership.

Fuccillo was known for his tagline, “It’s gonna be huuuuuge!” on-air, but he also had a big heart.

In addition to heading the Fuccillo Automotive Group, he regularly donated to charities such as $100,000 for the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida in 2019 to support local hunger relief efforts.

Every time Fuccillo gave a gift he looked like he was the one receiving instead of giving. Fuccillo had a huge heart. He gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Harry Chapin Food Bank over the years and to the Salvation Army.

His generosity was often unpredictable.

“Billy was sort of famous for calling up unexpectedly and saying, Hey, I got something for you. And as a result of that, you know, he fed many thousands of people in Southwest Florida,” said Richard LeBer, CEO of the Harry Chapin Food Bank. “I think ‘huge’ will just go into the lexicon and will be a permanent part of people’s conversations for many years to come.”

Robert Goodman was a friend to Fuccillo. The two met when Fuccillo bought Goodman’s lot and turned it into his Cape Coral Kia car dealership.

“He was nervous about it,” Goodman said. “He was like, he called me Bobby, Bobby, this doesn’t work, I need you to buy it back from me, I want to, I want to get a money-back guarantee, and I was so sure that it would work.”

Not only did it work, but it was also huge.

In no time, Fuccillo was a philanthropist. He started giving away free cars and free homes. There was free gas day, too.

“He was you know, he had this persona on TV,” Goodman said. “But he was really, you know, he was a humble guy when you got to know him.”

He was also generous to his customers and employees.

“I want to thank Billy Fuccillo from Fuccillo Kia of Cape Coral … we had such good memories of our trips to Europe and the Bahamas for the employees and customers,” said one customer, Sandra Hamblin George. “Thank you, Billy, you will be missed.”

In late 2020 the Fuccillo Kia dealerships in Cape Coral and Port Charlotte were sold to a Delaware-based corporation, LMP Automotive Holdings.

To read Fuccillo’s obituary, visit here. His funeral will be held in Syracuse, New York on June 24.

Visitation

JUN 24. 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM (EST)

Thomas J. Pirro Jr. Funeral Home

3401 Vickery Rd

North Syracuse, NY 13212

Funeral Mass

JUN 25. 11:00 AM (EST)

Our Lady of Pompei – St. Peter Church

301 Ash St.

Syracuse, NY 13208