This was what I was going to add. It’s basically just walking around and finding panels that have small 2d mazes on them, and solving the mazes. Sounds simple and honestly quite boring, but it quickly becomes far more special and ends up being so good.
Some of the solutions made me feel like my brain was folding in on itself before clicking into place
YES It was a Dodge Viper game, as in that was the only car available I think. And there was a button to either crush the car more or maybe launch it into the air? I’m pretty sure that’s how I managed to crumple it into a ball with wheels just like you. 15 to 20 years ago sounds right