There was a short lived gas rationing in the late 70s but that was from a trumped up oil imbargo. The difference between then and now is back then the bottom wasn't dropping out of the economy like it is now. We still had manufacturering and jobs in those days. It's different now and getting worse fast.
If it gets bad enough and stays that way long enough, when people see us laughing ans singing our way to the store getting 120 mpg things could change.
I'm old enough to have been driving in the 70's and worked in a gas station two summers. (People are actually nicer after being cut off from gasoline for a year.)
Gas was rationed only by ODD or EVEN license plates, you could get gas depending on the last number of the car's license plate. The problem was the Arab OPEC countries decided to stop shipping oil to the USA. Gas lines were long and some stations rationed quantities, but I don't remember the government ever putting in rationing. (I have a GMC Suburban I rarely drive. Don't get impatient and honk while I'm filling it. I'll fill it up... all 43 gallons.)
Everyone sold their big cars and bought small cars. 15 years later, all of those small cars are gone, oil is $10 a barrel, and SUV's are the car of choice. 20 years later, oil prices are skyrocketing back to adjusted for inflation highs.
Big picture, look at Europe. More people in the USA riding small cycles and smaller cars. However, most American cities are setup to use freeways as the main transportation, unlike Europe. Switching from suburban sprawl to urbaan high density housing is going to take an economic shock.
If gasoline goes to $10 a gallon, watch out for hyper-inflation. You might smile about more people riding motorized bikes, but you may not have a job.
Gas is going up as the American dollar goes down.
Lastly, in California, you need a motorcycle license for a motor bike, just like a motorcycle. Only electric bikes are unrestricted.
