I loved Interstate 76 back in the day. I believe the team went on to make Vigilante 8, which either inspired twisted metal, or existed alongside it. I've never been a huge car combat fan, but Interstate 76's alternate history, and stylized graphics appealed to me to the extent that I could push through some of the slogs. You can't get out of your car in it, though.
Interestingly, there was a sequel, Interstate 82, in which you could get out of your car, but the combat was considerably weaker, the cars had less of a weighty feel to them, and in the end, the game just wasn't very good. It did have one of the most hilarious final boss fights in video games, though (no spoilers!).