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The technologies we’re adopting now were significantly developed by post 70s research funding. The cars people drive are massively more efficient, the houses we live in, and the appliances we buy for the same reason.

The energy crisis in the 70s you reference coincided with a pathological and suicidal environmental movement that killed any chance for the United States to transition to nuclear power, like France did. If we had done that, or if Nixon hadn't resigned and his energy project had passed, the geopolitical situation would be remarkably different. The USSR would've probably collapsed sooner, and the center of gravity for global energy production would not be in the most volatile region on the planet today.

They did spur engineering effort to develop ICEs such that regular passenger cars in the USA could do better than 10 mpg.

It was something at least. Now we have a lot of people who choose to drive far less efficient behemoths than the much more efficient ICE (or hybrid) passenger cars currently available.

Honestly the tech wasn’t there yet then. It sure is now.