There are a lot of terms thrown around when talking about cars.  A few key ones everyone should know and understand are the concepts of torque and horsepower, as well as the difference between them.  These concepts are crucial to the understanding of cars and trucks in general, and can answer the question of which is better to have in what situation.  They each have different needs, advantages, disadvantages, and areas of use. 

             First, let's look into the definitions of these terms.  In basic terms, both torque and horsepower are means of power delivery from the engine.  Now for a mini physics lesson.  It all starts with the concepts of work and force.  According to Dictionary.com, "force" is the strength or power exerted on an object.  So say you put your car in neutral and tried to push it but it doesn't move.  You've exerted force, but due to the car's weight, it has too much resistance for you to move it.  Work, is the distance moved times the force exerted, expressed as: W = D x F, and measured in foot-pounds (ft-lbs).  An example Hot Rod Network used is if you use a hoist to lift a 600lb engine 6ft in the air, the work performed is 600 x 6 = 3,600 ft-lbs.  

             In relation to an engine, torque is the rotational movement around an axis.