Some people will be able to telecommute or carpool.  They might have to either move closer to work or change jobs.  You might start to see a lot more motorcycles on the road.

For people living way out in the boondocks, you may be right about someone having to live in the city during the week.  Maybe a studio apartment - a hotel would be too expensive.  Heck even a 2-bedroom apartment and a roommate would work.

In the end, these are all short-term coping mechanisms.

I got an email from someone at work this week pointing people at gasbuddy.com.  This is from the guy who drives the Navigator, and his commute is only 5 miles or so.  Yeah, be my guest - go and try and find your cheap gas.

Sounds like you are too young to remember the 60s. Back then engines with over 50,000 miles on them were one step away from the scrap yard. Tires needed replacement at least twice a year. Spark plugs needed replacement along with ignition points every year. Oil had to be added at nearly every fillup. I bragged about getting 20mpg from my VW. Overall even the cheapest cars now last longer than the most expensive did then. VCRs weren't even imagined and a remote control meant telling one of the kids to change the channel. We didn't have to say which channel since we only could get two.
On the other hand outside of the use of semiconductors and better materials there really isn't anything in new car engines that wasn't used in WWII airplane engines. B-17s had turbochargers and B-29s had electronic fuel injection. All airplane engines used aluminum alloys while many cars are still stuck in the iron age.  Hemi heads and 4 valve cylinders were racing around Indy back in the 30s. Duesenbergs had double overhead cams when most cars were still using flatheads. Automatic transmission are mechaniclly the same as those developed in the 30s and used by Sherman tanks in WWII. The only mechanical innovation since the 50s is the Wankel.