Jeep sent a giant duck across the Detroit River into Canadian territorial waters this week, but it wasn’t a Trojan Horse-style invasion.
The automaker floated the 40-foot-tall yellow rubber duck-style inflatable near Windsor’s Great Canadian Flag, which is situated just in front of the Stellantis Canadian headquarters building on the river’s bank, as part of Jeep’s 85th anniversary celebration.
Ducking has become a popular pastime among Jeep owners, who leave small rubber ducks on each other’s vehicles. It’s rare to see a Wrangler these days without at least one sitting on its dashboard and not uncommon to see a flock of them.
Ducking started in 2020 and actually has Canadian roots. It began when Allison Parliament, a Canadian Jeep owner living in Alabama, bought a bag of ducks to hide around a friend’s house as a gag and left one on a Wrangler she saw in a parking lot with a note that said “nice Jeep.” The amused owner caught her in the act and suggested she post a photo on social media, which went viral and started the trend. While any duck will do, Jeep now sells its own through its merchandise store.
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Jeep doesn’t build any models in Canada today, but Kaiser-Jeeps were assembled in Windsor from 1959 to 1969. and it put a 1968 M38A1 that was assembled there on display with the duck. The Stellantis’ Windsor Assembly Plant currently builds the Chrysler Pacifica and Dodge Charger.
Jeep has been marking its 85th anniversary with the monthly rollout of a special edition model every montht that started last November and runs through this October. The latest is a new Wrangler Laredo with throwback styling inspired by the CJ and Wrangler Laredos of the 1980s and 1990s.
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