Do you remember the Chevy Venture Warner Bros. edition?
You’d be forgiven if not. The special edition lasted from 2000-2003 and was produced in limited quantities. It included leather and cloth seats, built-in child restraints, Warner Bros. badging with Bugs Bunny leaning against the logo, and a DVD or VHS entertainment system.
Chevy managed to use the famed studio’s name to sell a few extra vans, but it certainly can’t be classified as a smashing success.
Today’s version of that special Venture is a Star Wars edition of the Nissan Rogue.
But once again, no one seems to want it.
Basing a fast-food meal or a cheap plastic toy off a movie makes sense, because the items are short-lived and are either consumed or broken by the time the movie loses popularity and fades into obscurity. Basing a car off a movie, on the other hand, doesn’t make sense. I mean really, would you be caught dead in a Batman & Robin version of a ’97 Sebring, with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze character leaning against the Chrysler logo?
I didn’t think so.
The Nissan Rogue is the carmaker’s best-selling model and didn’t need any help in the popularity department. Even still, a Star Wars: Rogue One edition has cropped up in conjunction with the film and sports a few extra badges and comes with a free death trooper helmet.
Nissan dealers in North America have 5,400 special edition 2017 Nissan Rogue Star Wars Limited Edition models to sell. Very few fans are stepping up and shelling out the extra $1,990 for those badges and “free” helmet, though.
Frank Kuna, a general sales manager at an Arizona dealership, told Automotive News that the debut of the limited edition vehicle and Rogue One movie have definitely driven customers into the store, but has only resulted in the sale of one of his four limited-edition vehicles.
The same article also quoted Jeff Collura, a new-car sales manager at a Nissan dealer in Pennsylvania, who said he hasn’t seen an increase in store traffic or sold any of his four limited-edition models.
It seems like people are smart enough to realize that taking on six years of payments for a car that will be irrelevant in six months isn’t the best idea in the world.
Saving the two grand and getting a standard Rogue, though, is an investment that can’t go wrong. Even without the free helmet.
Would you buy the Star Wars edition of the Nissan Rogue?
-tgriffith
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so what happened to all the ones that went unsold?? I wouldnt mind finding a sweet deal on one especially if it still came with the helmet!!
Bought one and love it! Comes with the sight and sound package that makes the SV model worth the difference in price. Helmet is a novelty which will always be worth $400 plus on EBay, if I chose to sell it, and which I won’t. Don’t forget about the LED headlights that is part of the package. I always get very positive comments on my black beauty. Too bad you don’t have the “force” with you.