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McLaren's Jenson Button believes the streets of Monaco do not show up the flaws on the team's troubled MP4-28 car as much as on previous tracks.

Whilst Button and teammate Sergio Perez never threatened the top-five in either of yesterday's practice sessions, the 2009 world champion believes the car's long run pace around the principality is better than it has been on previous circuits as it seems to simply behave better with a street set-up.

"I'm happier with the car here than in the last few races," said Button.

"The pace on the long run is surprisingly good.

"There are some positives with areas that we've struggled in before, but seem a bit better.

"Because Monaco's such a different race, you change the car quite a bit, and it seems to be working a little bit better.

"Not that that matters much around here when you're 1.2 seconds off the pace in qualifying...”

Jenson Button, McLaren MP4-28. (Photo: McLaren F1 Team)

Life is all about perceptions; how we perceive those around us. Life is often about stereotypes as well, and as much as we try and avoid such things, they trickle into our everyday lives and have even seeped into the automotive world.

That's right; this list of top 10 queer cars for the straight guy is a gathering of seemingly girlie or feminine cars that are actually quite manly and brutish once you ditch the stereotypes and get behind the wheel.

Whether it's womanly because of the design or because of a stereotype that's grown over the years and never been squished, these 10 vehicles have been wrongly accused of wearing miniskirts and stilettos when they actually wear Levis and steel-toe boots.

Mazda MX-5/Miata (any generation)

Photo: Mazda

It's adorable, little, and has always had a cute grin that makes girls say “awww” whenever they see one pass on the street. A two-seater convertible, the Miata brings to mind long blonde hair billowing in the wind. However, this queer car for the straight guy is anything but girlie. Nearly track ready and able to handle any curve you throw its way with ease, this grinning roadster is a rebel within.

Continue reading Top 10: Queer Cars for the Straight Guy

While Denny Hamlin was concentrating on breaking the track record, in qualifying at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, his motivation was getting back into Chase contention.

Driving a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Hamlin broke the track record with a speed of 195.624 mph around one-and-a-half mile oval. He knocked the Chevrolet driven by Kurt Busch off of the provisional pole.

Shrugging off the effects of a fractured vertebra, suffered at Auto Club Speedway earlier this year, Hamlin thought a pole was good but only just good enough. "We have a mission ahead, and that's to try and make the Chase," said Hamlin.

In order to make sure that happens he'd likely need to win two races and advance to the top 20 in the points to earn a Wild Card entry into NASCAR's version of the "The best way to do that is to win races, and to win races, you're going to have to have every advantage you can -- one of them being the No. 1 pit stall (granted to the pole-winner).”

Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. (Photo: NASCAR)

Since it's NASCAR's longest race, at 600 miles, good pit stops will take on added importance. Having the choice of a pit stall helps determine where a driver might blast out off on restarts.

Hamlin is currently 27th in the standings 61 points out of 20th place after missing four races due to his back injury.

Kurt Busch, who has been working on restoring his stature in the NASCAR with some very good runs but no wins, said "I really just committed to running the best lap I could, pushing every envelope that I normally don't push. Obviously, it paid off with a big reward."

Despite being faster than 41 cars, in the 43-car field, Busch said “I didn't do my job, but my team is doing an incredible job with fast cars week in and week out. I told them we had a pole-winning car today. We didn't have a pole-winning draw as far as going out in the mid-range, but it's part of the game. You have to have a pole-winning car and then if you get a pole-winning draw, like Denny did to go out late, you want to deliver. And so he did.”

The Toyota's of Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, and Clint Bowyer completed a Toyota sweep of third through fifth.

Sunday's race starts at 7PM EDT.

From GMM

The engine deal between Toro Rosso and Renault is reportedly not yet ready to be announced.

Earlier this week, we reported that the Red Bull-owned team's anticipated switch from Ferrari power would be announced imminently, on the sidelines of the Monaco grand prix weekend.

But German-language Speed Week reports that, during conference calls and internal meetings in the last days, there were still elements of the deal that were being discussed and debated.

"There are still too many outstanding issues," a Toro Rosso source is quoted as saying.

Alain Prost, on Renault's executive committee, said on Thursday that he expected progress to be made this weekend as the French marque signs up its 2014 customers.

"I'm not negotiating with the teams myself but we all know that it's going to be accelerating during this weekend," he said in Monaco.

"I cannot say all the (announcement) dates for all the teams but I hope very quickly."

Photo: Renault Sport F1

News 24 May, 2013

Renault Twin'Run concept makes its world debut at the packed Monaco Grand Prix circuit

The 2014 Mazda 3 hatchback was caught with no camouflage on the Bank of America Merrill Lynch's annual "Car Wars" study.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter Thursday to respond to Chrysler's barb that Tesla wasn't the first American automaker to repay the U.S. government for aid.

Can the coattails of Fast and Furious 6 and its young, devoted male fans give a boost to Dodge Dart sales? Chrysler Group is counting on it.

Starting in September, dealers will be allowed to post used vehicles on AutoTrader.com with Experian Automotive's AutoCheck vehicle history reports in addition to reports from Carfax.

The 2014 Chevy Impala will be the first to use General Motors' new 2.5-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter today to respond to Chrysler's barb that Tesla wasn't the first American automaker to repay the federal government for aid.

Toyota brought the Corolla to U.S. shores in the summer of 1968, just as sales of imported vehicles were on the rise.

Reports say that the Swedish government wants to question former Saab chairman Victor Muller as part of an inquiry into suspected tax offenses at Saab.

Ally Financial, the auto lender majority-owned by the U.S. government, agreed to pay $2.1 billion to avoid lawsuits related to its bankrupt mortgage unit, Residential Capital.

Five months before Nissan is to begin rolling its yellow taxis onto the streets of New York City, the state's supreme court has ruled one element of the deal "null, void and unenforceable."

McLaren will produce a limited run of MP4-12Cs and MP4-12C Spiders for its 50th anniversary.

Tom LaSorda, the former CEO of Chrysler and Fisker Automotive, has started a new venture capital fund -- with investors that include auto racing and retailing executive Roger Penske -- that will invest in startup companies in health care, clean...

May auto sales in the United States are expected to rebound from an April slowdown, easing concerns of another spring swoon, forecasters said. The light-vehicle seasonally adjusted annual selling rate for this month will be 15.

News 23 May, 2013

New Nissan 370Z Nismo to start from £36,995; lesser 370Z models get price cut

2014 Mercedes-Benz E-class Coupe and Cabrio First Drive

Fortified With More Vitamin E.

SYLT, Germany – When Mercedes-Benz replaced its CLK-class with the E-class coupe and cabriolet for the 2010 model year, it was a source of debate between the automaker and the critics. The new coupe and cabriolet were based mostly on the E-class, Mercedes insisted, while automotive journalists noted the similarities between the new two-door and the C-class sedan.

Photo Gallery: 2014 Mercedes-Benz E-class Coupe and Cabrio First Drive - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2014 Mercedes-Benz E-class Coupe and Cabrio First Drive - Automobile Magazine

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