Actually not in this case. The factory uses a "special" thermostat, and they put the sensor/spring end away from the engine. The replacement t-stats are different, and they go in the opposite way (sensor/spring towards the engine - and that in fact is the way the FSM shows it.
You may already know this, but on the LH cars, the thermostat is on the coolant *inlet* side of the engine (downstream side of the lower radiator hose). But in any case, the cars come from the factory one way, and the FSM for every year shows it the opposite way. Weird, eh? In reality, I suspect it won't matter a lot - the warm up cycle may be affected (slight delay or overshoot), but once the t-stat opens, it should pretty much operate the same.