What does Torque mean for cars and trucks?

[Terminator]

Ok I know what Horse power means when reading about cars and it says 280 horse power which is the amount of power the engine produces. But what does the Torque mean? My car has 108 ft lbs of torque and yes I know that is nothing, but does this mean the amount of energy distributed to the tires to make the car move?

 

[RockyD7]

It's the amount of actual turning force applied to the wheels. Horsepower is eaten up when it is used to turn the drivetrain and move the weight of the car. The actual amount of power you have left to turn the wheels (The unsprung weight.) is the torque, or "net" horsepower.