I swear, whenever I’m behind a BMW, I notice that the backwheels are leaning slightly inwards, like this: /
Maybe it has something to do with back wheel drive, but then, other makes with BWD don’t have wheels that lean like that. Are the people in München on to something that no other car maker knows? Or is it just a quirk?
You are describing negative camber and this is not unique to BMW. A small amount of negative camber allows the outside wheel in a turn to meet the road more squarely even with a little body lean. The actual amount of negative camber may be less than it looks becase the wheel arch near the wheel is rarely perfectly vertical, curving in toward the bottom, which can make the wheel appear to have more negative camber than it really does.
BMW’s have independent rear suspension instead of a solid rear suspension like most rear wheel drive cars. Instead of a solid axle tube (with a solid axle inside), BMW’s use half shafts much like front wheel drive cars. Corvettes and Audi’s are the same. The first Pontiac Tempest had independent rear suspension too. BMW’s with the leaning rear tires are due for replacement rear struts, they should not have any noticable camber while traveling straight down the road.
Last time I saw this was this evening, sitting at a stop light behind a BMW from the 80’s. So I guess racer72 is on the mark. Thanks.