Somewhere between Washington, Detroit, and our own state capitals, we are losing that precious flavor ingredient that means so much to so many of us; the simple pleasure one gets out of driving a car.

While the primary characteristics in the fleet market will always be to assess the value of a car on its utilitarian worth, there remains on important factor within the average American that offers the driver a special satisfaction inside his car during the period that he journeys. You need only to review the recent years of strong demand for personalization of the cars, by those paying out of their own pocket, to confirm this. Manual shifts, tachs, air conditioning, the total extra chrome wheels and accessories offer that driver that opportunity for his inaudible expression of ownership as he walks away from his car in his driveway. It is this emotional pride and pure pleasure that some industry and governmental groups are threatening.

Seat belts and harnesses (that a small percentage of people are using), proposed air bags, computer driven cars, electric battery operated cars, recessed door handles inside and out (ever try to find one in the dark in a strange car), a proposed federal maximum speed law, elimination of the vent windows (don't you miss them, too), and a host of other influences directly threaten our pleasurable privilege of driving.

Meanwhile some of the crying needs appear to run into roadblocks. Just why can't we establish a standard titling law so that each state would follow the identical procedures? Can you imagine the economic savings? Why can't we get a standard odometer law that would immediately level out true used car values nationally? Why can't we establish volume purchasing discounts for cars just as the automakers negotiate and receive for die castings or steering wheels? And why can't we generate acceptance and understanding toward that end?

Our 15,000 readers directly represent 2.7 million cars and 1.2 million light trucks: it seems to me that when these same fleet men are buying over a million new cars each year that they have the power to influence changes that are overdue or those that are infringing on the pleasure of driving. The question is, do these fleet men have the interest.