A standard trick for illustrators or cartoonists who want to make a vehicle appear to be going fast is to show the tires as ovals leaning forward. This illusion of speed originated with photos of cars taken with old-fashioned cameras with a "focal plane shutter." In this type of camera, instead of the shutter opening from the middle of the lens, the shutter traveled from one side to the other to let light in to expose the film. Wheels looked like they were leaning forward because the car was moving, and as the left side of the car was done being photographed, the right side was still being exposed as the car was further down the road.
The one photo which really popularized this imagery was taken by Henri Latique at an auto race in 1912. In this picture, because Latique was panning the camera to try keep the car in the image, the wheels are leaning towards the right and the stationary bystanders are leaning towards the left.
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