File-holding vendor Billy Fuccillo Sr., identified for his “It is large!” promoting slogan and splashy advertising and marketing efforts, died June 17 at residence in Sarasota, Fla. He was 65.

“Identified for his legendary generosity and larger-than-life character, Billy was totally dedicated to the communities he served and to the individuals who knew him as a buddy, a father, a husband and a colleague,” stated a post on the Fuccillo Chevrolet Grand Island Facebook page.

Fuccillo, CEO of Fuccillo Automotive Group, was born in 1956 in Greenport, N.Y., and graduated from Syracuse College, the place he performed tight finish on the soccer crew from 1974 to 1978, according to his obituary.

He landed a job in sales at a Chevrolet dealership in Buffalo, N.Y., and later purchased a wholesale automobile enterprise, in accordance with a report within the Fort Myers Information-Press in Florida.

Fuccillo finally expanded his empire to effectively over 20 dealerships in New York and different states comparable to Florida and bought some shops alongside the best way, stated Bob Scalione, Fuccillo’s longtime lawyer in Syracuse, N.Y. Scalione declined to share a reason behind demise.

“He was an icon in his trade,” Scalione stated. “Billy would do issues that many automobile sellers would not take into consideration doing.”

Fuccillo bought 2,021 new autos in June 2005 at his Syracuse Hyundai retailer, a month-to-month file for the model’s dealerships, a Hyundai spokesman confirmed.

He was an lively member of Kia’s nationwide vendor council and will probably be missed, Sean Yoon, CEO of Kia Motors North America, stated by a spokesman.

Percy Vaughn, regional director for Kia’s southern U.S. area, stated in an announcement from Kia: “Billy Fuccillo is among the most influential Kia sellers in our 26 12 months historical past within the U.S. Since buying his first Kia Dealership in 2007, Mr. Fuccillo retailed over 128,000 new Kia autos and achieved the all time Kia vendor month-to-month gross sales file of 1,323 models in his Cape Coral retailer in March 2015.”

In 1996, Fuccillo hosted Robbie Knievel, son of motorbike daredevil Evel Knievel, to leap his motorbike over 19 vehicles at a dealership in Adams, N.Y. The promotion led to the sale of greater than 500 vehicles.

He supplied freebies to prospects shopping for a automobile from him — and never simply trinkets. The giveaways included cruises and even a home in a single promotion.

In 2012, traditional rockers Styx played a concert from his Cape Coral, Fla., dealership parking lot, attracting 1000’s, in accordance with the Fort Myers Information-Press.

“He was the very best self-promoter I’ve ever seen,” Barbara Rothschild, government vp of the Syracuse Auto Sellers Affiliation, informed Automotive Information.

Supplier Michael Romano stated Fuccillo was “nothing just like the man who was on TV.”

“He was very mental, very beneficiant, very, very, very good, hardworking and, like I stated, actually, actually honorable,” Romano, co-owner of Romano Auto Dealerships in New York state, stated of his buddy and competitor.

In 2020, through the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, the Fuccillo group donated meals to hospitals and essential workers.

This 12 months, the group bought a number of shops, together with Florida Kia dealerships in Port Charlotte and Cape Coral to LMP Automotive Holdings Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for $68.5 million. It additionally sold five New York dealerships to Matthews Auto Group of Vestal, N.Y., in January.

The group at the moment has 20 dealerships in New York and Florida, in accordance with its web site. Scalione stated a brand new Kia retailer is being inbuilt Clermont, Fla. Fuccillo’s son, Billy Jr., is president of the dealership group.