Photo: Toyota
Toyota has reportedly changed the name of the GR 86 from the way you just read it to GR86. Yes, you read that right, the space is gone. So, why the change? According to a report, it all has to do with SEO, which is short for Search Engine Optimization, and Toyota wants to make it easier for people to find its GR86 online.
While the change makes sense once it is explained, it is surprising to see that it took this long for the company to discover the fact that a model name made of split letters and numbers would be less looked up online than one comprised of a single word.
Moreover, the Japanese marque went through this with the model's predecessor, the GT 86, so one would expect them to have all aspects covered by now. Internet users probably would have called the car GR86 anyway, as they did with the GT86.
It may take a while for Toyota to change the name to GR86 on all its websites and in the company's literature, but making a shift like this does make sense. We browsed Toyota's websites for the U.S., UK, and Europe, and we discovered some inconsistencies. We expect them to be ironed out shortly.
For example, Toyota's U.S. website already shows the model as the GR86, while Toyota's European websites, both in the UK and the one for the EU, still have the “old” name, as you can see in the photo gallery. The change was first spotted by Carscoops, but the report was picked up by several other websites with the same source.
We reached out to Toyota for more information on the matter and confirmation of the report. James Clark, Senior Manager of Toyota UK's Press Relations, replied that the space between GR and 86 was not "eliminated, as it was never there." He also explained that "there was a gap between GT and 86 on the old car, but GR86 has always been GR86."
Moreover, the Japanese marque went through this with the model's predecessor, the GT 86, so one would expect them to have all aspects covered by now. Internet users probably would have called the car GR86 anyway, as they did with the GT86.
It may take a while for Toyota to change the name to GR86 on all its websites and in the company's literature, but making a shift like this does make sense. We browsed Toyota's websites for the U.S., UK, and Europe, and we discovered some inconsistencies. We expect them to be ironed out shortly.
For example, Toyota's U.S. website already shows the model as the GR86, while Toyota's European websites, both in the UK and the one for the EU, still have the “old” name, as you can see in the photo gallery. The change was first spotted by Carscoops, but the report was picked up by several other websites with the same source.
We reached out to Toyota for more information on the matter and confirmation of the report. James Clark, Senior Manager of Toyota UK's Press Relations, replied that the space between GR and 86 was not "eliminated, as it was never there." He also explained that "there was a gap between GT and 86 on the old car, but GR86 has always been GR86."
Google News