Monkey Soup
Angry Wanker
agreed...and to add to this...in todays world as opposed to say a 1965 car....labor is EXPENSIVE and tech is cheap....So you try to eliminate as many human steps as possible...more human steps, more hardware, more procedures, more time, etc...Sub-assemblies are so much more complete now than ever before. I haven't bought a replacement CV boot in years, you just buy a whole new axle. Cheaper/easier for X car company to have a "contract manufacturer" build axle assemblies then to have their laborers do it.
The tech really is cheap, and that is a place where they really rape us when it comes time to "option" the cars. In today's world there's no reason why things like LED lights and Nav shouldn't be standard, but most times you'll have to pay an up-charge.