Jerry Hirshberg Explained

Gerald Paul Hirshberg
Birth Date:30 June 1940[1]
Birth Place:Cleveland, Ohio
Death Place:San Diego, California
Nationality:American
Other Names:Jerry Paul
Known For:Automotive and industrial design
Occupation:Lead designer, Nissan Design International, 1980–2000

Gerald Paul "Jerry" Hirshberg (June 30, 1940 – November 10, 2019) was an American automotive designer, industrial designer, musician and painter.

Early life and education

Hirshberg studied mechanical engineering at Ohio State University and received a degree with honors in Design from the Cleveland Institute of Art. After graduation, he continued to study in Europe on a Mary C. Page Fellowship. 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.[2] Hirshberg's first automobile was a Volkswagen Beetle.[3]

Automotive design

Hirshberg started his career in automotive design with General Motors in 1964, where he created designs for the Pontiac and Buick divisions under Bill Mitchell, notably the 1971 "boattail" Buick Riviera, where he interpreted Mitchell's original concept.[4] By the time he departed GM, he was the Buick/Pontiac chief designer.[5] Regarding his time at GM, Hirshberg recalled in 1999 that "[the car design trend] was certainly sexual, but it was the sexual fantasies of men. When we lapsed, we were doing design pornography."[6]

In 1980, Hirshberg left GM after being recruited to join Nissan, where he served as the founding director and eventual President of their first design studio in the United States, Nissan Design International (NDI), based in La Jolla, California.[7] In 1982, NDI had thirty employees, which Hirshberg called an "experiment in intercultural creativity."[8] NDI, along with Toyota's Calty studio, were some of the earliest California-based automotive design studios established by foreign and domestic manufacturers throughout the 1970s and 80s.[9]

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, a yacht, and a computer for RDI Computer Corporation.

In 1999, Mickey Kaus attributed Nissan's poor sales performance throughout the 90s to the "loser designs" produced by NDI under Hirshberg.[10] 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.[11]

By the late 90s, approximately 75% of Nissan vehicles marketed in the United States were designed at NDI.[12] In 1999, Hirshberg served as the spokesman for Nissan advertising in America.[13] He retired from Nissan at the end of June 2000, turning down a potential promotion to Nissan's global design chief, and continued to pursue artistic interests in retirement.

Credited designs

Hirshberg is credited with creating or assisting with the following designs:

Death

On November 10, 2019, Hirshberg died at his home at the age of 79 after a year-long battle with glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer.[22]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Nissan's Hirshberg lays down his pen . Rechtin, Mark . 20 March 2000 . Automotive News . 23 January 2018 . Jerry Hirshberg, the loquacious and controversial designer who penned some of Nissan's most distinctive vehicles during a 20-year career, will retire as president of the company's Southern California studio June 30. ... His last day as president of Nissan Design International will be his 60th birthday, the same day the Z sports car will be a finished design..
  2. News: Autos on Friday: Design; A Last Chord From Nissan's Rocker-Designer-Spokesman . Patton, Phil . 30 June 2000 . The New York Times . 22 January 2018.
  3. News: With New Beetle Come Wistful Hints of Old Flame . Meredith, Robyn . 4 January 1998 . The New York Times . 24 January 2018.
  4. Web site: History. . buick-riviera.com . 23 January 2018.
  5. Book: On a Global Mission: The Automobiles of General Motors International, Volume 3: GM Worldwide Review, North American Specifications and Executive Listings . Fourie, Louis F. . 2016 . 978-1-4602-9690-5 . Friesen Press . Victoria, BC . 23 January 2018 . 1490.
  6. News: Ideas & Trends: Hey, Nice Headlights; In Detroit, a Sex Change . Meredith, Robyn . 16 May 1999 . The New York Times . 24 January 2018.
  7. Web site: Jerry Hirshberg. HarperCollins. November 7, 2016. HarperCollins.
  8. News: The Americanizing of Japan's Cars . Holusha, John . 14 November 1982 . The New York Times . 24 January 2018.
  9. News: Motor City in California for Japanese . Levin, Doron P. . 7 May 1990 . The New York Times . 24 January 2018.
  10. Web site: Who Stole Nissan's Cojones? . Kaus, Mickey . 27 November 1999 . Slate . 23 January 2018 . Kausfiles.
  11. News: Private Sector; Creating a Comeback at Nissan . Passell, Peter . 6 June 1999 . The New York Times . 24 January 2018.
  12. News: Jerry Hirshberg . Rechtin, Mark . 1 May 2008 . Automotive News . 22 January 2018.
  13. News: Nissan's chief designer to star in new ads . Rechtin, Mark . 12 April 1999 . AdAge . 22 January 2018.
  14. Book: Classic American Cars: An Illustrated Guide . Cheetham, Craig . 2006 . 38 . Chartwell Books . 978-0-7858-3273-7 . 23 January 2018.
  15. News: Pages in the Hirshberg Sketchbook . Patton, Phil . 30 June 2000 . The New York Times . 24 January 2018.
  16. Dream Haulers . Gromer, Cliff . September 1990 . Popular Mechanics . 34 . 23 January 2018.
  17. News: Nissan hopes concept truck will appeal to women buyers . Doo, Jack . 25 February 1990 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 23 January 2018.
  18. News: Breaking the Mold at Nissan Design . Bryant, Adam . 11 May 1992 . The New York Times . 22 January 2018.
  19. Nissan Z Concept Goes 'Back to Basics' . 6 January 1999 . The Auto Channel . 23 January 2018.
  20. News: Maxima Gets a Dose of, Well, Viagra . Paul . Dean . May 13, 1999 . Los Angeles Times . 13 March 2024 . But Maxima was too far into its design cycle for the healing hands of the freshly empowered Hirshberg to become really inventive. He did supervise the concept..
  21. Nissan Sentra: Enhanced anonymity . Tony . Swan . May 2000 . Car and Driver . 13 March 2024 . Nissan says that in addition to creating a sense of solidity and substance, a key design objective for the new Sentra was avoiding flashy "look at me" styling. Judging by our initial encounter with the first small car to come from California-based Nissan Design International, we'd say director Jerry Hirshberg's bunch nailed it..
  22. News: Jerry Hirshberg, who opened 1st Nissan design center outside Japan, dies. 14 Nov 2019 . The Los Angeles Times.

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