what exactly is torque in terms of car?

Torque is a twisting force. Think of a spinning electric motor. If you were to grab the output shaft and it about twists your hand off, you could say that it has a lot of torque.

Torque = F x d, where F is the amount of force applied to a distance d away from the origin. In order for your car to accelerate, torque has to be applied to the wheels of your car. Torque AT THE WHEELS wins races. It's true that you don't "feel" horsepower. You feel the acceleration that comes from the force that the wheels exert on the ground. However, the torque your engine hardly ever equals the torque at your wheels. The horsepower however at the crank is ALWAYS equal to the horsepower on the wheel (assuming a frictionless world). This is why you'll get maximum acceleration at your peak horsepower as long as your can get it to the ground.

Horsepower is NOT just an arbitrary mathematical formula! It's as real as torque! Torque is a measure of torque and horsepower is a measure of power. In translation world:

Power = Force * Speed

In rotational world:

Power = Torque * Angular Velocity, or in this case, Power = Torque * RPM / 5252

The 5252 is a conversion factor. You can't multiply torque in ft. lbs. and angular velocity in rotations per minute and expect to get horsepower, just like I can't expect to multiply Speed in miles per hour and Time in seconds and expect to come up with meters. Horsepower is what matters.

foot pounds per square in at rear tire print