Random images from inside and around the New York International Auto Show

On Wednesday, I saw this rambunctious pair in the cab of one of the many car carriers lining 12th Avenue behind the Javits Center in Manhattan, below, where the New York International Auto Show press preview was underway.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Racing from one tightly scheduled press conference to another proved exhausting on Wednesday, when the 2015 New York International Auto Show opened to the media.

After a press breakfast from 7:15 a.m. to 9 a.m., 14 manufacturers unveiled new vehicles and concepts, but none was revolutionary. 

Lexus kicked things off at 9:10 and a Rolls-Royce reception was scheduled to cap off the day at 4:20 p.m. 

Food service was disappointing, compared to last year. See:

Automakers woo media with free food and drink

On Wednesday, I left before 1 to catch the ferry back to New Jersey.

No mystery here. On Wednesday, Jaguar, above, and Subaru, below, readied media introductions of cars with powerful internal-combustion engines that are sure to aggravate air pollution wherever they are sold.

Subaru showed an "STI Performance Concept." The media's reward was box lunches containing a vegetable or turkey wrap, bag of chips and a cookie, according to one server.

The Lexus Press Event, above and below, included loud music, strobe lights and the unveiling of two news models. What really surprised me was how many members of the world automotive media stood up and applauded when the wraps came off. What exactly were they applauding?

General Motors President Dan Amman gave the keynote address in his pronounced New Zealand accent. Here, he looks like he is praying no one in the audience asks him what he has to say to the families of drivers killed by Chevrolet's cheap ignition switches.

I heard this man say he is a member of the BMW board. Big deal.

This sleek machine reportedly has an MSRP of $2.3 million.

Only invitees holding a black card were admitted into Porsche's hospitality lounge.

Fancy tail lights aren't enough to elevate the body of the Toyota Mirai fuel-cell sedan above the ordinary.

In the United States, Toyota will sell only 3,000 Mirais from the fourth quarter of 2015 through 2017, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday, citing the limited places to refuel the car with hydrogen.

The Volkswagen e-Golf and other purely electric cars from Ford and Mitsubishi look like kitchen appliances when compared to Tesla Motors' luxurious Model S, which has more than twice to three times their range on a full charge.