Record-holding dealer Billy Fuccillo Sr., known for his “It’s huge!” advertising slogan and splashy marketing efforts, died June 17 at home in Sarasota, Fla. He was 65.

“Known for his legendary generosity and larger-than-life personality, Billy was thoroughly committed to the communities he served and to the people who knew him as a friend, a father, a husband and a colleague,” said 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 University, where he played tight end on the football team from 1974 to 1978, according to his obituary.

He landed a job in sales at a Chevrolet dealership in Buffalo, N.Y., and later bought a wholesale car business, according to a report in the Fort Myers News-Press in Florida.

Fuccillo eventually expanded his empire to well over 20 dealerships in New York and other states such as Florida and sold some stores along the way, said Bob Scalione, Fuccillo’s longtime lawyer in Syracuse, N.Y. Scalione declined to share a cause of death.

“He was an icon in his industry,” Scalione said. “Billy would do things that many car dealers wouldn’t think about doing.”

Fuccillo sold 2,021 new vehicles in June 2005 at his Syracuse Hyundai store, a monthly record for the brand’s dealerships, a Hyundai spokesman confirmed.

He was an active member of Kia’s national dealer council and will be missed, Sean Yoon, CEO of Kia Motors North America, said through a spokesman.

Percy Vaughn, regional director for Kia’s southern U.S. region, said in a statement from Kia: “Billy Fuccillo is one of the most influential Kia dealers in our 26 year history in the U.S. Since acquiring his first Kia Dealership in 2007, Mr. Fuccillo retailed over 128,000 new Kia vehicles and achieved the best-ever Kia dealer monthly sales record of 1,323 units in his Cape Coral store in March 2015.”

In 1996, Fuccillo hosted Robbie Knievel, son of motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel, to jump his motorcycle over 19 cars at a dealership in Adams, N.Y. The promotion led to the sale of more than 500 cars.

He offered freebies to customers buying a car from him — and not just trinkets. The giveaways included cruises and even a house in one promotion.

In 2012, classic rockers Styx played a concert from his Cape Coral, Fla., dealership parking lot, attracting thousands, according to the Fort Myers News-Press.

“He was the best self-promoter I’ve ever seen,” Barbara Rothschild, executive vice president of the Syracuse Auto Dealers Association, told Automotive News.

Dealer Michael Romano said Fuccillo was “nothing like the guy who was on TV.”

“He was very intellectual, very generous, very, very, very smart, hardworking and, like I said, really, really honorable,” Romano, co-owner of Romano Auto Dealerships in New York state, said of his friend and competitor.

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

This year, the group sold several stores, including Florida Kia dealerships in Port Charlotte and Cape Coral to LMP Automotive Holdings Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for $68.5 million. It also sold five New York dealerships to Matthews Auto Group of Vestal, N.Y., in January.

The group currently has 20 dealerships in New York and Florida, according to its website. Scalione said a new Kia store is being built in Clermont, Fla. Fuccillo’s son, Billy Jr., is president of the dealership group.