Hirshberg studied mechanical engineering at Ohio State University and received a degree with honors in Design from the Cleveland Institute of Art.
During college, under the stage name Jerry Paul, he released the hit single "Sparkling Blue" in 1959 and opened for well-known musicians such as Bobby Rydell, Fabian, and Frankie Avalon.
[9] I never wanted to be interviewed later, saying, 'If you had seen what we really wanted to do ... 'NDI took on several commissions outside automotive design in order to stay creative, including the commercially successful "Bubble Burner" golf club line for nearby TaylorMade,[3] a yacht, and a computer for RDI Computer Corporation.
[11] In 1999, Mickey Kaus attributed Nissan's poor sales performance throughout the 90s to the "loser designs" produced by NDI under Hirshberg.
[12] However, earlier in 1999, Hirshberg said Nissan had been directing conservative designs from Japan since the early 90s, after the market failure of the Infiniti J30.