herman mark schwartz
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thunen.bsky.social
herman mark schwartz
@thunen.bsky.social
660 followers 61 following 1.7K posts
periodic posting on political economy issues, mostly charts, some shirts, weekly kittens. Sic semper tyrannis.
States vs Markets 5th edition now out: https://www.bloomsbury.com/9781350458369
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deanbaker13.bsky.social
If the NYT finds it too difficult to apply the same standards for AOC as for white male politicians, they should go into a different business.
February 16, 2026 at 7:49 PM
thunen.bsky.social
Ask @70sbachchan.bsky.social or @ember-energy.org that’s their field
February 15, 2026 at 5:54 PM
thunen.bsky.social
bsky.app/profile/thun...
thunen.bsky.social herman mark schwartz @thunen.bsky.social · 2d
supercharging failure (today's WSJ). VW probably spent €millions to squeeze 67 extra horsepower from an ICE engine to shave 1 second off the 0-60 time - but electrics remain faster, mechanically simpler (& thus less prone to failure) w/ relatively immature battery technologies. #wrongdirection
The New VW Tiguan Turbo Is a Little Scary The 2026 Tiguan’s high-output turbocharged evo5 is one of the most complex and highly stressed gas engines Dan Neil has ever seen in a car not named Porsche Watch your head. Hidden beneath that thick acoustic engine shroud, the new high-output turbo assembly isn’t much to look at. But it’s rad. It is, first of all, of aftermarket proportions—about the size of a country ham. It also employs variable inlet geometry that instantly and precisely meters boost, air charge and bypass, reducing throttle latency and increasing efficiency. Anticipating the higher stress of the big turbo, VW’s engine boffins future-proofed the standard evo5 in interesting ways. In the new version, the sky-high compression ratio—10.5:1, pretty much on the ragged edge for a turbocharged engine—relies on higher pressure in the direct fuel-injection system (from 350 to 500 bar) as well as a forged steel fuel rail to carry it. For your mechanic’s future reference, the fuel pump is now inside the crankcase, being driven by the engine balance shaft. So it should be no trouble to get to. The higher forces, in turn, would require thicker piston crowns, shortened connecting rods and thicker wrist pins. The need for cooling meant redesigning the combustion chamber itself, and incorporating a new air-to-water heat exchanger. The big turbo-edition comes with oil-cooled pistons and a nitrided crankshaft. The evo5 also features a hydraulic intake cam adjuster “and a simplified cam system,” VW’s press release crows, “which substitutes four separate cam pieces with eight adjusters for two pairs of cam pieces with double actuators.” You know. Simple. Where can gas engines go from here? All of the above is what it takes to wring 268 globally compliant horsepower out of a 2.0-liter gas engine. And for what? Twenty-five mpg, combined, in a small family SUV? And how long before this hyperbaric, ultrasonic sewing machine spins a bobbin? Electric cars may not be perfect but they have far fewer moving parts. What the Tiguan really needs under the hood is a frunk.
February 15, 2026 at 2:04 PM
thunen.bsky.social
because the market is going somewhere else!
perfecting obsolescence!
bsky.app/profile/70sb...
70sbachchan.bsky.social Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 2d
"2025 EV Share of New Car Sales, Top 10 Countries
1 Norway 97%
2 Nepal 73%
3 Denmark69%
4 Sweden 61%
5 Iceland57%
6 Finland56%
7 Netherlands 56%
8 China 53%
9 Singapore 47%
10 Belgium 43%

EVs are now mainstream across much of the world" - Assad Razzouk
www.visualcapitalist.com/ev-share-new...
February 15, 2026 at 2:03 PM
thunen.bsky.social
Somewhat contradictory no? Most threatened trust the EU more to get it right.
February 14, 2026 at 1:04 PM