Sorry, but it's torque that gets you from point A to point B, whether it's on the track, or on the interstate. B16's don't have *useable* torque until high-rpm, hence the power band from 5000-redline. My non-VTEC B18B (LS motor) has torque from 1,500 through redline. I can drive in 5th gear at 45mph, and keep up with traffic. Or, I could wind out my motor and tear down the road. Personally, for my daily driver, I'm more happy with torque than horsepower. I'd have to agree with whoever it was that posted the thread about the useable power (area under the curve, or integral) of the LS v/s B16 w/ VTEC. Sure, VTEC bloats the numbers, and yeah you have a lot of *PEAK* power. But torque is what gets the turbo spinning, right?
If I cared about drag racing (which I don't) I'd rather have a motor that can get into boost at a lower RPM, lighten the flywheel, etc. Oh, and the people doing smoky burnouts are the people with open differentials and shitty tires, torque or no torque. My friend's 92 corolla can spin one tire, Beavis.