I agree to a point although, for most drivers alignment to factory specs should provide you a decent experience with tires. They should achieve their mileage rating with somewhat vanilla handling specifications. Most people don't hand their tire guy detailed specs as to what you want outside factory specs. That said there are factory duds for specs as in the case of my e36, factory alignment gets you neither handling nor longevity...I chuckle at the last one I'm not sure that's achievable when my size 14 is on the throttle regardless of specs!

When *I* think about most new BMW cars, they're leased cars with factory maintenance which includes rotating tires? & air pressure checks at set intervals. I don't know about alignments though. (wouldn't know I only take other peoples bmw discards). The point being all things being equal, tire longevity on the same car with factory specs, similar treatment are fairly accurate. My run-flats lasted 35k and were toast, therefore my Toyo's will last considerably longer seeing as they're at 10/32 with 31k on them. Same driving, same maintenance cycles.

To your point though between different cars yes there are many more factors that go into it. A basic understanding that air pressure, rotation, and alignment are the key factors that a driver can address, those areas are critical to preventing premature wear. Some tires work with some cars, others they don't. In the case of what I saw I'd agree. Great tires for the X5, questionable for a Toyota.

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'08 E70 3.0
'98 E36 M3 Convertible