Metallicar

Metallicar is the nickname fans have given the Winchesters' 1967 Chevy Impala. According to the Super-wiki the name originated on Television Without Pity fanboard in 2005.Metallicar article
In canon, Dean cares about the Impala a lot. 
In fanworks, the car is often treated like a character. Sometimes the car is anthropomorphized, usually as a woman.stereowire. 
She is sometimes paired with Dean (see the Dean/Impala pairing page), though in some fic she rejects Dean.Vintage by ljs-lj, "Pairings: unrequited Dean/Impala; Impala/Dodge Challenger" She is occasionally paired with both Sam and Dean.Works tagged Impala/Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester at AO3.
There is also bodyswap fic with the Impala (even before the episode with the Sampala -- Season Five's Changing Channels in which the Impala briefly turns into a Knight Rider-type car with Sam being its consciousness).
 
Sometimes the Impala is paired with other cars, such as Metallicar/Truckzilla (John Winchester's truck) or cars in car shows, which may lead to crack car pregnancy fic.Derryderrydown. GrandcarsEpeeblade. What to Expect When Your Impala's Expecting
==The Role It Plays In The Season 5 Finale 'Swan Song'==
In the final episode of Season 5 ("Swan Song") the Impala plays a pivotal role in pulling Sam free from Lucifer's possession. According to the Supernatural Wiki: "While Sam is possessed by Lucifer, and confronting Michael, Dean arrives at Stull Cemetery in the Impala. He confronts Lucifer, who starts beating him. However it's the Impala, the boys' home and place of so many memories (particularly of his relationship with Dean) that finally helps Sam fight back and take control from Lucifer."Impala entry on the Supernatural Wiki.
After the episode aired camui-zuuki put together a series of screencaps summarizing the episode and the role that the Impala played. The full series of screencaps can be viewed here; however a small selection appears below, along with quotes from her essay. Click on the images to see more detail.WebCite for camui-zuuki screecaps.
File:Swansong09.png|The episode uses flashbacks to establish the importance of the Impala in Sam and Dean's lives: "During another flashback we see several things, that made the Impala special....."
File:10.png|"....The toys Sam and Dean crammed into the ashtrays or vents, their initials on the cars interior."
File:Impala17.png|camui-zuuki writes:"In another flashback we see the brothers in the past... playing pool, driving around the country and just being together."
File:18.png|A line from the episode: ""It never occured to them... that sure, they never really had a roof and four walls... But they were never, in fact, homeless..."
File:Impala24.png|A possessed Sam begins to offer a death blow to Dean who is lying beaten against the Impala
File:Impala25.png|At this moment "Lucifer sees his own reflection in the shiny roof of the Impala... images start appearing in front of his inner eye... memories of Sam and Dean and the Impala... the brothers, who sacrificed so much for each other, who love each other so much, that they would give anything for one another." 
File:Impala26.png|And Sam, now free of Lucifer, sacrifices himself and saves the world. 
==Vids==
* Brick House is an Impala-centric vid by deirde_c. ( link) (See also the vid commentary by yourlibrarian here) WebCite for "Brick House by deirdre_c, commentary by yourlibrarian" post, 18 July 2010. (Accessed 3 December 2010)
*Hey Pretty by astartexx. A vid told from the Impala's POV: ‘Hey pretty, don't you wanna take a ride with me? Through my world.’ The Impala is more pissed at Sam’s bitchy attitude, dad’s grumpiness and generally less forgiving than Dean.
==Fan Art==
File:Supernatural impala by doublestart.jpg|Sometimes the Impala is seen in human form. Artist: doublestart
File:Gileadine00009rfy.jpg|And not always fully human: "I didn't want her to be one of those big-boobed, long-haired beauties Dean prefers to fuck. His car girl needed to be someone different, someone with whom Dean would want to hunt, who he'd protect with all his heart, with whom he'd share a long-lasting, very devoted bond." Artist: Gileadine.
File:Tumblr nargynargy.jpg|One fan on tumblr wryly observes that the Impala is "The Only Surviving Female On The Show".WebCite. Artist: nargynargy.WebCite.
File:Old Impala by ReitaWolf.jpg|Dean's connection to the Impala runs deep. When the car is totaled in the accident and their father dies, Dean channels his grief and anger into restoring the car. Artist: reitawolfreference link.
File:On the Road SPN SXD by ElTheGeneral.jpg|Sometimes the Impala is the witness to Sam and Dean's "erotically co-dependent" relationship. Artist: ElTheGeneral.WebCite.
File:Impala 67 by loonylucifer.jpg|alt="Illustration of Sam pressing Dean up against the Impala, Sam is his kissing Dean's neck and pushing Dean's shirt up with his and one leg inserted between Dean's leg. Dean is looking away from Sam, with one hand on the hood of the Impala. In the background if the sign "Singer Auto Salvage""|Sometimes the Impala plays a more....active role in Sam and Dean's relationship. Artist: loonylucifer.
File:Impala love by quimvaa dean and cas.jpg|Even angels find themselves drawn into the "Impala Love." (Dean/Castiel). Artist: quimvaa.reference link.
File:Tumblr cafe-de-labeille sam dean and cas OT3.jpg|The Impala is not only a place for sex. here Dean and Castiel enjoy a moment of comfort and tenderness with the Impala. The artist labeled the Dean, Castiel and the Impala as her OT3. Artist: cafe-de-labeille.reference link.
File:Deansamcar.PNG|alt=illustration of teenage Dean and child Sam embracing and sleeping upright in the back seast of the impala|For Sam and Dean the Impala is the only home they've ever know. Title: Sleeping in Impala. Artist: 來球.reference link.
File:Wincon 2007 Tote Bag.jpg|tote bag handed to attendees of the 2007 Wincon convention featuring the convention logo: the Impala
File:A-starfish000eb7aw.jpg|A fan made book bag. Artist: A-starfish
File:Ldhenson3quarters.jpg|Fan made felt Impala. Artist: Ldhenson.Additional images are .
File:Home's Face (Baby's Story).png|Art by myfriendfredric created for the fic Home's Face (Baby's Story), for the Dean's Baby Mini Bang
File:Wayward sons.png|wayward sons by itsvondell, showing Dean, Sam and Cas relaxing on the Impala, the wings behind the sun indicate Castiel is an angel, but also, depending on when exactly the image was created in 2013, may be inspired by the Season 9 title card for the series
File:Impardis by sirgeorgprime.png|A fan imagines what the Impala would look like if it were a Tardis. Doctor Who has a similar close relationship with his 'vehicle'. Artist: sirgeorgprime. 
==Meta and Further Reading==
*Meta-llicar: a muscle car meta by missyjack (June 2006); archive link
*Dean's Emotional State and The Condition of The Impala" (S1) by anteka (September 2006); archive link
*A Tribute To The Impala a.k.a. Metallicar by raloria (December 2006) archive link
*Dean's Emotional State and The Condition of The Impala" (S2) by anteka (January 2007); archive link
*Wilkinson, Jules. 2009. Back in black. In the Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on "Supernatural," ed. Supernatural.tv with Leah Wilson, 197–207. Dallas, TX: BenBella; archive link
*Bruce, Melissa N. 2010. The Impala as negotiator of melodrama and masculinity in Supernatural. In "Saving People, Hunting Things," edited by Catherine Tosenberger, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 4. https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2010.0154.
*George S.A. 2014. A Man and His 1967 Impala: Supernatural, U.S. Car Culture, and the Masculinity of Dean Winchester. In: George S.A., Hansen R.M. (eds) Supernatural, Humanity, and the Soul. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
*Stewart, Mark. 2014. A Black 1967 Chevy Impala: Fan Shibboleths as Cultural Password. FlowTV 20.2; archive link
*Knowles, Thomas. 2016. The Automobile as Moving Castle. Ed. Melissa Edmondson. The Gothic in Supernatural: Essays on the Television Series. McFarland Press.
*10 Baby Facts for SPN Fic Authors by durenjtmusings (August 2017); archive link
==External Links==
*Impala page at the Supernatural Wiki
*Metallicar page at the Supernatural Wiki
*Sampala page at the Supernatural Wiki
==References==
Category:Supernatural Characters
Category:Supernatural Fandom GlossaryCategory:CharactersCategory:Glossary