The "boom" years of the 1920's were characterized by widespread use of the automobile and an increase in buying.
It is thought that no invention affected American everyday life in the 20th century more than the automobile.
The early American automobile pioneers like Ransom E. Olds and Henry Ford built reliable combustion engines, rejecting the ideas of steam or electrical power from the start.
The first automobile produced for the masses in the US was the three-horsepower, curved-dash Oldsmobile. The firm prospered, and from 1904 to 1908, 241 automobile-manufacturing firms went into business in the United States. One of these was the Ford Motor Company which was organized in June 1903, and sold its first car on the following July 23.
The company produced 1,700 cars during its first full year of business. Henry Ford produced the Model T to be an economical car for the average American.
The 1920s saw tremendous growth in automobile ownership, with the number of registered drivers almost tripling to 23 million by the end of the decade.
The 1920s was a also decade of increasing conveniences for the middle class. New products made household chores easier and led to more leisure time. Products previously too expensive became affordable. New forms of financing allowed every family to spend beyond their current means.
Learn more about the rise of the American economy from these helpful study sources below:
http://www.ushistory.org/us/46a.asp
http://www.ushistory.org/us/46f.asp
http://l3d.cs.colorado.edu/systems/agentsheets/New-Vista/automobile/