Ferdie Dominelli could hardly believe it when Ford asked him to take over their Hurstville dealership in 1969.
"In my youth, Hurstville and Beverly Hills were like Double Bay," said Mr Dominelli as he reflected on 50 years in the motor industry.
"If you went out with a girl from Hurstville, it was big time. To get the opportunity to have my own dealership in what was fast becoming a bustling town was something else."
Mr Dominelli went on to become a household name in the 1970s thanks largely to the "Fussy" Ferdie Bird cartoon character and other creative advertising and promotional initiatives.
Over half a century, the Dominelli Group has sold more than 100,000 vehicles.
Mr Dominelli also served for eight years, from 1991 to 1999, as an independent on Hurstville Council, including four years heading the Health and Building Committee.
These days, Mr Dominelli, 81, dabbles in property while his son Adam runs the business, which has three franchises, including Dominelli Ford and Renault at Kirrawee and Rockdale Mazda.
Ferdie Dominelli grew up on his family's market gardens at Green Valley, rising at 4.30am each day to help his Italian migrant parents before heading off to school.
His mother wanted him to have a white collar job, so he studied accountancy for four years before his boss saw he had a flair for selling.
Mr Dominelli started selling electrical goods and furniture and progressed to cars, becoming an industry hot shot and running Pat Cullen Holden at Liverpool before moving to Hurstville.
Ford had bought a new site at Hurstville but existing dealer Hunt Bros did not think it was sustainable.
Mr Dominelli saw the potential in the greenfield site on Forest Road, which enabled him to have "the best showroom in Australia".
That, together with advertising spearheaded by the Ferdie Bird, was a recipe for success (see story below).
Mr Dominelli is writing his memoirs, but not to beat his own drum.
"The main purpose is for my five grandchildren to understand that life is not always smooth," he said.
"I have had a lot of setbacks in my life and I want to show that if you have a positive attitude, you will overcome the obstacles."
Mr Dominelli's measure of success is "not how much money you make, but what you have done with your life".
He and his business has supported a huge range of charities and community causes through sponsorship, fundraising and voluntary service.
Mr Dominelli initiated the Cancer Care Lodge project at St George Hospital and was heavily involved in raising funds for cancer care services at the hospital.
In 2017, Mr Dominelli was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) and is also a recipient of an Italian knighthood - the Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana - and Rotary award, The Paul Harris Fellowship.
Adam Dominelli joined his father full time in 1991, quickly expanded the business and has been CEO of the Dominelli Group since 2004.
Building a new showroom at Kirrawee, which opened in 2017, was a major highlight.
"One of the joys of the motor industry is it's always changing," he said.
"We are proud of being a family business with very low staff turnover. More than 15 of our employees have been with us for over 25 years.
"We are the number one ranked Ford dealer on Google and Facebook."
How Ferdie Bird came about
Ferdie Dominelli had Humphrey B Bear in mind when he hit on the idea of promoting his business through a cute cartoon character.
"I wanted something that would be popular and memorable," he said.
"Alan Dean from the advertising agency came up with the Ferdie Bird jingle based on my reputation for being fussy, and Hanna-Barbera did the design.
"I am amazed how, to this day, people still come up to me at functions and sing the jingle."
Ferdie Bird was the mascot of the St George rugby league team during two years of sponsorship, which included a Player of the Week award.
Mr Dominelli said it gave former St George Building Society chief Jim Wills the idea for Happy Dragon.
