A question about that sleek, black 1967 Chevy Impala

[agt_spooky]

I've been wracking my brain for an answer to this and coming up blank - has it ever been said on Supernatural exactly when John gave Dean the Impala?

Now for the purposes of a story that I'm in the process of writing (before dairwendan kills me!) it would be great if John gave it to Dean when he was about 19 or so, but I'm thinking by the clues I can recall in canon it was a lot later than that.

We know the Impala was Dean's by the time of the Pilot, since he was off on his own in New Orleans when John went missing. Then in Dead Man's Blood, John gets on Dean's case about the car, saying he wouldn't have given it to him if he wasn't going to take care of it. Making it seem like the car had only been Dean's sole responsibility for a short while.

And again in Dead Man's Blood, Dean seems surprised to see John's hidden weapon case, like perhaps John hadn't had Truckzilla for all that long and/or the case was a new addition.

(As an aside, I wonder what happened to poor Truckzilla, abandoned with four slashed tires in front of that warehouse. Seems a shame that all of John's weapons were probably impounded by the police when the truck was eventually towed away)

Ok, so am I being completely dense and there was an answer on the show? If not, when do YOU think John gave Dean the Impala?

Comments

[khek.livejournal.com]

I sort of thought that once John left Sam and Dean alone, and Dean was old enough to drive, he would have had his own car. It would make sense, just because it would mean Dean and Sam could be left alone for longer stretches, and be able to get around on their own more.

I don't know if that car would have been the Impala, but I bet Dean had his own car at 16. Now, it could have been the Impala, or it could have been something else. It would make more sense for John to have something that was more mainstream if he was hunting alone though, because he didn't have anyone to back him up and invisible would be better.

As for the weapons arsenal in truckzilla, I always thought that Dean was less surprised by what was there than he was by how it was organized; with electrical access and little individual foam compartments for each weapon. It was a little overkill! (Although both Gordon and Steve Wandell had similar organized weapon spaces...maybe there's a hunter out there who did special jobs, and John just didn't tell the boys!)

My theory would be that Dean got the Impala around 18 as a rite of passage, or at 21, after Sam left as a kind of consolation gift.

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

I sort of thought that once John left Sam and Dean alone, and Dean was old enough to drive, he would have had his own car.

Yeah, exactly. That's why I thought it would've been in Dean's teenage years that John turned it over to him.

It would make more sense for John to have something that was more mainstream if he was hunting alone though, because he didn't have anyone to back him up and invisible would be better.

Right, exactly. The Impala isn't exactly inconspicuous!

I always thought that Dean was less surprised by what was there than he was by how it was organized; with electrical access and little individual foam compartments for each weapon.

Yeah, he was probably like, "Dad left the trunk like this for ME, then he goes off and gets this custom case??"

My theory would be that Dean got the Impala around 18 as a rite of passage, or at 21, after Sam left as a kind of consolation gift.

For my story it would be great if it was around 19, but I can also see him getting it later on, like you said.

Ok, Eric, here's something else we want an answer for! :-)