Nissan goes Rogue with Star Wars special edition | LA motor show

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars was just a movie, but today it is a marketing megagoliath that's worth billions to the Disney Corporation, which is willing to apply its selling power to every product from toothpaste to spaghetti and now, inevitably, to a car.

Sure, strictly speaking there are no cars in the Star Wars universe and that could be why no one's seriously considered creating such a vehicle before, but then there's not a lot of spaghetti in the films, either.

Star Wars could probably be used to sell dog vomit, quite frankly, because its hard-core fans are completely bonkers, which is why Nissan knows it's on to a PR winner by tying up with what it calls "a cultural touch stone".

Unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show (where else?) amid smoke, fire, lasers and some deeply familiar music, the new Nissan Special Edition Rogue One Rogue comes in just two colours - Storm Trooper white and Darth Vader deepest black.

Obviously, it's been built to celebrate the release of the latest (eight movies, and counting) Star Wars post-prequels-prequel; Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which opens on December 16.

The illuminated doorsills with Star Wars logos will make their owners cry tears of joy every time they open the door.

Each of the limited-edition 5400 Rogue Rogues (5000 for the US, just 400 for Canada, all of them likely to appreciate in value like George Lucas) gets Star Wars badging, including Rebel and Empire symbols in each cup holder, plus special floor mats that look like they could be made of Wookie fur.

Finally, the illuminated doorsills with Star Wars logos will make their owners cry tears of joy every time they open the door.

The exterior of the Rogue SUV, which is the US-market version of the X-Trail now the biggest-selling Nissan in North America ("it's gone from launch to light speed", as a grinning spokesman put it), gets LED headlights, black grille and other shiny bits.

Taking the geek factor to light-sabre intensity, each buyer also gets a genuinely fantastic looking full-scale replica of a Death Trooper's helmet. Yes, a Death Trooper. They're new.

Getting one of these cars, of course, will be an enormous challenge, even if you live in the US.

When they announced the helmet news, there were genuine gasps of awe from every man in the crowd over the age of 35.

All this can be yours for just $US1,990 on top of the normal Rogue price (around $US23,000), which, if you're a Star Wars fan, is the biggest bargain since you bought your ticket to the original movie for around $3.

Getting one of these cars, of course, will be an enormous challenge, even if you live in the US, because they will sell out faster than you can say "may the Force be with you".

Has the Star Wars franchise taken merchandising a step too far with the Nissan Special Edition Rogue One Rogue? Tell us what you think in the comments below.