An old colleague worked for a mechanical engineering consultancy that helped companies optimize things like engines, etc.
They built measuring equipment and software that allowed the companies to squeeze the biggest engine possible into the smallest compartment.
Costs have big impacts on manufacturing. Saving $0.50 on some little widget may allow for much bigger savings in the build process. There’s also a general goal to make minute cost changes just to eliminate inflation without retooling.
I wonder if something like this was at work when the 96 Eclipse was designed. My then-gf in college had one; I changed her timing belt and water pump. It was miserable:there was only 1/2"of clearance between the engine and bay everywhere. I joked that they must have used a giant Play-Doh pasta maker to install the engine by squishing it in to conform to the engine bay.
They built measuring equipment and software that allowed the companies to squeeze the biggest engine possible into the smallest compartment.
Costs have big impacts on manufacturing. Saving $0.50 on some little widget may allow for much bigger savings in the build process. There’s also a general goal to make minute cost changes just to eliminate inflation without retooling.