ABSTRACT
In 2010-2011 Toyota aired a series of commercials to introduce its minivan, the “new” Sienna and the “Sienna Family.” The commercials depict a white, suburban, middle-class family with a father, a mother, a daughter and a son. Each parent confesses in direct address why he or she loves their new car, and with a cheeky smile, the parents affectionately call their minivan the Swagger Wagon, thus proclaiming how owning a minivan has not detracted from their coolness. Bopping their heads rhythmically to hip-hop music as they drive their family down their tree-lined streets, this Toyota family plays with preconceived notions of the “sensible” family car through a racialized discourse that brings a sense of the stylish and urban to mainstream suburban life. Apparently, this large consumer purchase has allowed this white family to continue to feel hip even after safely ensconcing themselves in suburbia.
