Trelinski,
a very good question, which has also occured to me (btw, i'm in ajax, west of you)

Ultimately, it is power that matters, to overcome interia, internal friction and aerodynamic drag, at a given engine speed (i.e., torque applied at a given rpm is power). Most diesel engines have a low HP rating because of the low redline, because traditional diesels are not particularly effective at high rpm. And horsepower depends on torque AND rpm.

One missing factor is gearing. However, because of the diversity in gearing of cars, it is difficult to compare high-torque and high-hp cars. (other factors are vehicle mass and aero drag)

Instead, one could imagine a hypothetical car that had a continuously-variable transmission (CVT - like that in the new Audis), and where you could easily swap engines: to get the max acceleration, you would run the engine at the HP peak and vary the drive ratio continuously. If you had a diesel engine and a gas engine with the same power and weight, they will produce the same acceleration. In any case, an engine with a lower HP rating would produce a lower acceleration.

A counterexample to slow high-torque diesels is a semi-trailer truck without the trailer. With an 18-speed transmission, you could launch it from a stop in one of the middle or higher gears, producing an acceleration that will humble some cars. The gearing of the higher gears is being used to take advantage of the vast reserves of torque that are not being used. They race these trucks in Europe!