Ok, we all hear the term used here over and over..... "He's a poser" or "you'd be a poser" etc.. Tell me in your own words what you are saying when you call someone a poser.
Someone who buys a particular car/brand only for the aura/image it might throw on them instead of for the actual performance/capabilities/design of the vehicle.
So someone can go out and pay cash for a Ferrari, and it's OK to label him a poser? How do you know what his reasons are?
A poser is someone who acts as if they are something they are not. Whether that be the way they dress, talk, act in general, etc. A poser buys into a stereotype and artificially tries to align themselves with that stereotype.
Of course you can. He COULD be a poser if he does what was quoted before. If not he a fan/enthusiast/whatever.
poser is some1 who is insecure & ignorant and doesnt understand the reality of a situation He thinks that if he buys the right clothes/car/house/cologne/or wine or whatever he will be accepted for what he has He doesnt understand that what is really valued is being congruent w ones lifestyle, thus he is a poser
I like that...nice and clean. So a poser is someone who drives what appears to be an expensive car, but does not have piles of money in the bank. Or, A poser is someone who drives a Ferrari for the style, but not the performance. (As per racerx) Is that right?
Yes of course, more often than not you will find poser's driving f-cars and also p-cars. This is a car forum and the term as it applies to cars was stated clear. The garage queens, the guys who only want them to park in front of a trendy nightspot, and make it known they own it. Money has nothing to do with it. These are high performance cars built for a certain purpose, to be driven hard. If you buy it to be SEEN in it, as the main purpose, then you are a POSER, plain and simple. Also the guys who get caught up with only hanging with other f-cars, not enthusiasts, posers. As to what William said in other areas of life, if you hung out on rodeo drive and told people in a bar you just got back from st. tropez, when you hadn't then you would be a poser. We are defining poser here not applying it to anyone in particular, the label fits or it doesn't, depending on facts and poser's know who they are.
The ' trying to be someone or something you are not' definition seems to fit well.. I dont think that someone buying a Ferrari because they like how it looks and not because of performance is being a poseur.. that would imply people who buy nice watches or jewlery are all poseurs as they have no real benefit over reasonably priced watches or jewlery. I enjoy my 355s performance but I bought it because it was a symbol of something I never thought I could attain as a kid and I am an artist and love the perfectly sculpted lines. Lets not fool ourselves..if we were REALLY all about the performance there are comparably performing cars for less money. The marquee/history/looks of Ferrari hold much more value than the actual performance of the car. Please dont confuse what I just said with buying a Ferrari ( or anything ) because it is expensive and you want to show off your bank account..thats different and while Im not sure it signifies being a poseur its certainly pretentious and superficial.
So you're against calling someone a poser for implying they have more cash than they do. So if a car implies it's fast, and the driver drives it hard, he's NOT a poser, since money has nothing to do with it. So, it's OK for a car to imply he has wealth, even when he DOESN'T have it, but if he drives a fast looking car fast, he is not a poser. So, by your own logic: Kitcars imply wealth, but as you say, since money's not the issue, there's no problem. Kitcars look fast, so if you drive it hard, you are not a poser. So you are against calling someone who drives a Ferrari kitcar a poser. I think I like you. I have seen many people called posers on this site.
If you drive something because it's beautiful, wouldn't that line up to art work? If you drive something because it can drive quickly and go through turns well, wouldn't that mean you want a sports car for the sportyness? If I buy a fighter jet, it might be because I want to fly, you might think it's because I want to fire the cannon. Let people drive what they want and if they're posing or ricing or fartboxing, let the babies have their bottles and enjoy your car.
Nothing wrong with it, but if you mean going slowly thru town at a busy time to show off to others and that is the main reason for ownership then you are a poser. Nothing wrong with it. Ferrari and porsche history is racing and HIGH performance. If you buy their product to be draped in that history just for show and no go then that is Text Book posing. If they drive a kit car, they lack taste, but they are not posers, because they are fooling no one. People do get called posers and usually for the reasons already stated. I remember a ride thru london at 35 mph that fit the bill. People see exotics as fast and exciting, daring. Thats what comes to their minds not the price tag. (gas attendants say to me that thing is FAST, not hey that was expensive back in the day)If you don't once in a while drive it hard, You are a Poseur (poser). To show off wealth drive a Rolls or Bentley, then you are not posing because ostentaciousness is the reason to exist for them. Man LAW #333
Poseur = Actor formulæ: {look at ME ... + ... act as IF² ... + ... I fit IN³}¹º {((leech)(inferiority complex)(narcissism))(2½}
I have concluded from the above that there are no grounds on which to call someone a poseur that everyone here agrees on. Whether one can or cannot afford the car they show up in cannot be known by a bystander. Whether one can or cannot drive the car hard they show up in cannot be known be a bystander. Therefor, the casual observer has no right to call anyone a poseur. Period. I think it's time to give that label a rest already.
Perhaps people can't settle on a definition because they arent lexicographers? And perhaps one word has several meanings... NEVERMIND THAT!!! I can't remember ever seeing an alternate meaning in any dictionary. But it does intrigue me. Did someone call you a poser and then you went on ferrarichat for solace?
I Like this definition the best: Poser/Poseur: Any one who does not follow his/her own ideas of what he/she likes. Poser is governed not by the clothes, music, or makeup you wear, but rather by the state of your mind and the conformity to your own beliefs. Posers conform to the beliefs of others.
I'm not at all sure how you figure out if someone IS a poser (or a poseur), but I have a fairly simple test for determining if someone is NOT. You are not a poser (in the sports car sense, anyway) if you have a high-performance car- hopefully a Ferrari- and you can define all the following with some technical detail and have held all of them in your hand: 1. Syncro ring 2. Air corrector jet 3. Thrust washer 4. Spider gear 5. Gudgeon pin 6. Pilot bearing 7. Cam follower 8. Wastegate 9. Detent balls 10. Muffler bearings (when my 3 brothers and I were teenagers, we explained these to our mother from our prone position under some old Ferrari or Alfa and sent her to the auto parts store to get some, so we aren't very nice or politically correct, are we?). In addition, if you are under 50, you should be able to define all the following 10 acronyms within 60 seconds: PCM, IAC, TPS, EGR, VVT, EGO, IAT, MAP, MAF, and CAN. Although failure of this test does not NECESSARILY mean you are a poser, it is somewhat suggestive. On the other hand, I have never met anyone that can pass the test that gives a crap about the what other people think about what they drive, so they can't be posers. If someone passes the test and is also pretty sure they are a poser, let me know so I can modify my strict view of the accuracy of the test.
