The cooperative Fuel Research Committee was established in 1922 to meet refiners' and engine builders' need for a way to measure and define gasoline combustion characteristics. Made up of representatives from the government, oil producers, and Waukesha Motor Company, it concluded that a standardized test engine was the essential first step toward a gasoline knock-test method. In December 1928, the committee decided to proceed with an engine design developed by Arthur Pope, Chief Research Engineer of Waukesha Motor Company. In just 45 days, Waukesha Motor Company designed and built the first standardized single-cylinder engine, known as the CFR engine, and presented it to the Society of Automotive Engineers committee for approval in January 1929. By 1931, a standardized test engine, specific reference fuels, a rating scale, and a uniform knock-testing procedure had been achieved. Over the years, the CFR engine became the global industry standard relied on by thousands of users for consistent and efficient fuel certification, and it continues to be manufactured in Waukesha County by CFR Engines Inc. using the same key design principles defined in 1928.