Re: smells like
Armor-All's probably equally plausible.
But having owned a few North American vehicles of the 'his' variety (ie, manual), and forced to get up and under there with a torch to find and short the stupid clutch interlock switch, some cars look like an,"Alien," nest up there, and I'd guess it's silicone grease for the reasons mentioned above; I'd be surprised if some of the stuff *didn't* wind up where it's not meant to be.