Review written on 8/1964.
Calboni is in a unique position with the Allegheny. The Compact Car segment rules the Lackawanna market. While the T149 is the worst vehicle in the segment. Where does the Allegheny fit between these two extremes? Should consumer celebrate Calboni's new Compact Car? Or is this just another underachieving vehicle in the Compact Car segment?
I was giddy when I heard we were testing Calboni Allegheny. On the track this thing is fast. How fast? Notice there are no pictures on this page? That fast! This is one of the fastest Compact Car I've ever been in. As impressive as that sounds, the 79 hp @ 4715RPMs 1803 cc Wankel  engine is even more impressive. Peddle to the metal, this baby will do 107 mph easily. And in a straight line we hit a 24.203s 0 to 60 mph! With this 71 lb-ft of torque can tow 22 lbs. Once again. Not great, but not bad. In the real world the Calboni Allegheny could not even handle a U-turn, let alone our beloved test track. Why the hell would engineers at Calboni even put a steering wheel on this train? This has to be one of the worst handling Compact Car I have ever driven. Mommy can I keep it? Please?!
While certainly does not have the best features or materials. The Calboni Allegheny does provide the bare necessities required in a vehicle of this type. No more and no less. As well as it should. If you wanted to spend that extra bit you would of bought the better vehicle. Was Calboni wise in this respect? Maybe, but we do think they should of offered at least a little more bang for the buck so to speak.
We thought the Calboni Allegheny would be better served by removing something... anything... to make more space for passengers. Children are the only ones who will fit comfortably in this vehicle. And even then they won't have a place to put their backpack in this 17 cu-ft box.
The Calboni Allegheny has just enough labor of love in it to make it better than most other vehicles. Even though it came off an assembly line you can tell that the employees at Calboni love their job. This is reflected in the quality of material and workmanship used to finish the product.
The Calboni Allegheny is not a particularly reliable car. In fact, it is quite downright bad. We suffered a catastrophic brake failure in just a couple of days testing a new car. While this might be a fluke, we wouldn't bet on it from the complaints we've heard.
We wouldn't call the Calboni Allegheny a truly 'green' vehicle, but it does get a very good 38.0 mpg city and which will leave your wallet full of greens, and that's good enough for us.
If safety was your priority, then this isn't the best on the market. That being said it's better than a lot of vehicles as well. The folks at Calboni didn't make safety their focus, but there are enough features here to keep most people's minds at ease. And that's pretty much the jest of the thing. The Calboni Allegheny is average in all respects.
Overall the Allegheny is a borderline acceptable vehicle. Calboni did the bare minimum amount needed to make this Compact Car worthy of consideration. Sure, it falls flat in many areas. But it does do some things well. We would still consider this car below average and would only recommend it to consumers who are interested in it. If you are, check out your local Calboni authorized dealership.