One of our cars happen to have a flat today. We have mitsubishi + jeep. After taking it to the local shop for a test & mount, I noticed something.
It appears that when they mount the tires on the wheels, the tread pattern is not the same on the left & right.
In other words, let's say the tread "points" to the rear on the left, but it "points" to the front on the right side. I could see where there might be "lettering" only on one side, but on pure blackwalls, it just seemed odd...
I guess the tires are mounted on all wheels the exact same way, and therefore two of them are "reversed" depending upon which side of the car it is mounted...