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"         Thirty years ago, the cover of the January 1974 issue featured three Porsches. And over the next several years, the tradition grew that January issues would focus on new cars from , as we always seemed to find ourselves driving their latest offerings at the same time of the year.   And that leads us to this issue, which features the all-new on the cover with a driving impression and technical analysis story by Road Test Editor Patrick Hong. Then we have a masterpiece of historical significance from European Editor Paul Fr\u00E8re, recounting 40 years of . Paul, along with Editor-at-Large Joe Rusz, our two resident Porsche experts, spent time in Germany driving cars representing each decade of the 911 since the car was introduced at the September 1963 Frankfurt auto show. And having a conference with the Porsche engineers who produced these remarkable cars. It&amp;#039;s a timely and important story that chronicles the challenges of building a top-rank car and staying in the forefront.   The third piece of our Porsche puzzle comes from Senior Editor Kim Wolfkill, who has produced an excellent on the Porsche 911 GT3, the latest iteration of the 911 with phenomenal performance. In addition, Kim shares with us the excitement of racing in the Porsche Michelin Supercup event at the U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis in a GT3 Cup car. Then he mixes in impressions of the Racers&amp;#039; Group 911 GT3 RS that was so successful at Daytona.   Speedsters at 50   On the subject of Porsches, anyone who loves Porsche 356s will need to make plans to be in Monterey, California, in late June 2004. That&amp;#039;s when The Speedster 50th Anniversary Event will take place from June 25-27. According to spokesman Bruce Sweetman, there will be the largest display of Porsche 356s ever assembled, with driving events along the old Pebble Beach Race route and track driving at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. And things will wrap up with the traditional Parts Swap Meet on Sunday.   More information is available by visiting their website at .   Pontiac GTO   Bob Lutz, chairman of General Motors North America, came by last week and, being the consummate car guy, brought six GM cars along for us to drive. I got first choice and immediately grabbed the keys to the GTO. We have already published our road test of the car (), but I had not had the opportunity to drive that one.   The GTO, nee Holden Monaro, is a terrific successor to the original. It&amp;#039;s fast, the shift linkage is good, the ride is fine and the handling is taut. In fact, in most ways, it&amp;#039;s a much better car than the original because modern technology comes into play.   The next car I drove was the , which is one of the popular crossover vehicles, and that means it&amp;#039;s somewhere between a station wagon and a sport-utility vehicle. This one is rear-wheel drive, based on the same platform as the , and uses the Northstar V-8 engine as found in sporting convertible. The SRX is roomy, nicely finished inside and out, and offers commendable driving characteristics, with linear steering feel, smooth ride quality and decent handling.   I finished with a stint in the newest V-6 version of the CTS, but without the V moniker that comes later with the LS6 V-8. The CTS is edgy in styling but at least you know exactly what it is when you see one on the road. Driving dynamics are quite good, and the efficient size of the CTS is quite appealing, as it offers very good interior room for four adults in a tidy package.   We finished off the gathering with lunch at The Cannery here in Newport Beach, where Lutz shared some of his thoughts with us about the status of the industry and the things he plans to accomplish at General Motors. All in all, it was a delightful day of good cars, good conversation and a good lunch.   Peter Morgan, 1920-2003   Peter Morgan, who headed the sports car company at Malvern Link, England, from 1959 until 1999, has died at age 83. He was the son of H.F.S. Morgan, who founded the company in 1910 to produce the famed Morgan 3-wheelers that captured the hearts of many enthusiasts.   Peter was a quiet and delightful man in our experiences with him over the years. He seemed perfectly happy keeping the Morgan works going, producing several hundred cars per year for those with a passion for the marque.   Design Director Richard M. Baron and I visited Malvern Link a number of years ago to pick up a Morgan Plus 8 for a travel story we were doing, and had a very pleasant visit with &amp;quot;PM,&amp;quot; as he was known. At the end of our discussion and a cup of tea, Peter took us outside, said &amp;quot;Here&amp;#039;s your car,&amp;quot; and proceeded to clear all of his personal belongings out of it so we could go driving in Wales for a couple of days. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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