A Hunter's Journal

The '67 Chevy Impala

The Winchesters are terrifying in their own right, that can definitely not be denied, but there are a few things that they are most well-known for. One of the most iconic and recognizable features of the Winchesters is surprisingly not their (questionable?) taste in fashion, unsurpassable and idiotic hubris or even their uncanny ability to attract any creature in existence. If you see a slick, black cadil- no wait that was a Quiet Riot song. A slick, black '67 Chevy Impala, you know the boys are in town.

The hot vintage '67 Chevy Impala (often referred to as simply "Impala") was passed down by John Winchester to his son Dean before he took off to search for their family's arch nemesis. It has been speculated that John's oldest son traveled back in time and ended up recommending the Impala to a younger version of his father in search of a vehicle. This would mean Dean recognized the '67 Chevy from his own timeline and expressed his love for it strong enough to encourage John to buy it. From that moment, the car has been through a lot. Not long after the brothers and their father faced the demon Meg and her father, the trio got into a car accident, leaving the Chevy Impala in a dreadful state. Dean fixed it back up and got it on the road again under its' original plate KAZ 2Y5.

After interference from law inforcement, the brothers deemed it necessary to ditch these plates and get the '67 Chevy under the radar with the new license CNK 80Q3 instead. But despite the ulterior name change, Dean's nickname for the car firmly remained "Baby". Supposedly a reference to "Dirty Dancing", making the Impala the equivalent of the leading lady and Dean himself Patrick Swayze.

The most significant part of the Chevy however, is the trunk. Fitted out like many hunter's cars it contains a large kit with weapons, disguises and components for spells and rituals. The hood of the trunk has been covered in protective sigils by Sam Winchester to keep the contents safe. Initially the main purpose of this was to protect the Colt, but the impromptu lockbox came in handy for many other things afterwards.

I can’t really remember when, but someone once told me that the Impala reminded them a lot of Nightrider, which is something I’m not sure I can unsee now. All in all, it’s one hell of a car and I do think that it has made a lot of miles over the years, with Dean insisting on traveling everywhere in his beloved Baby Impala. Very often you can hear the sound of the engine reffing in combination with the loud rock music that Dean is so well-known for, signaling they’re heading your way. And if you are not on their side, it would perhaps be a good moment to start running.

According to some sources, the book series that Chuck wrote about the Winchesters featured the exact same make and model Chevy, which I heard even carried on into a stage play. Though how they ever afforded a '67 Chevy Impala for a high school piece of theatre will always be a mystery to me. In fact it sounds rather bogus - but who am I to judge?