Yeah, pretty mind-boggling. Personally, I think automotive identification is far easier than flower identification.
The problem with common names for plants is that they vary from guide to guide and region to region. If you were to travel about the country, you'd probably find at least three oaks that have the common name "white oak."
Albeit nerdy, the Latin names are the only way to really ID a plant. There are two genuses that are associated with the common name "monkey flower," Mimulus and Diplacus. I am not a botanist, but it seems pretty evident from the photos that the flower you took a picture of is in the Diplacus genus and not the Mimulus genus. As to the exact species, just making a somewhat educated guess, I would say that the flower in your photo is Diplacus aurantiacus, which the USDA guide refers to as "Orange Bush Monkeyflower." See:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=DIAU. Of course, you could play it safe, and simply say "monkeyflower."
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)