So, after many days of thinking (probably about 2), I decided to buy and Amazon Echo Dot to integrate into my Ap1.
I had completely forgotten about s2ki.com, until yesterday, after I had already started my project.
That was nearly a week ago, and now I'm almost done. I'll keep updating this thread as I move along.

I started off using a Raspberry Pi 3 to emulate a Wemo Smart Home Device. Had everything working, sending signals to the GPIOs whenever I wanted something to happen.
I decided to go with an Arduino NodeMCU ESP8266 to emulate Wemo instead. This has the benefit of being able to disconnect/reconnect power much more efficiently than the Pi3.

The Pi3 would need to run a shutdown script everytime. There is a device called the Mausberry that would safely shut it down, when there is no power detected. However, they were out of stock at the time I had looked. So, I hopped onto Amazon, and purchased a couple of NodeMCUs with my prime 2-day delivery.

I tested the placement of the Echo Dot, while driving with the windows down, and found the best spot was in the cup holder area. The microphones inside Alexa pick up my voice much easier there.

Quick test video of it up and running with LEDs.

The Open/Close won't actually open and close. Alexa just won't respond correctly to Unlock/Lock, maybe someday.

Here are some pictures of the printing process:
https://imgur.com/a/Y9J23

8/27:
-Designined and printed, over night, a piece of the bracket that will go in the cup holder.

8/28
-Designed a bottom bracket to hold the top bracket. Just waiting for a day when I'm not busy, to print it out and test fit everything. (Might be another day or two.)

9/5
-Been on vacation for the weekend, and had just got back. Printed the bottom bracket and wow, was I way off. The top and bottom pieces, I just measured from an extra cup holder, that I had, pretty quickly just to get a rough estimate. This (top and bottom) is what I will be calling revision 1.

9/8
-So, for the past couple of days I actually took the time to remove the center console cover. I kept the original design and worked from there. The top bracket, I added a curve to the top surface and made it just a bit bigger to fill in the cup holder a lot better. The bottom bracket, I added more curves instead of 90 degree angles (rev1 kept breaking at those points when I tried to force everything in), I also shortened the back legs, and moved the front holes a little more forward. Then I printed everything out overnight.

9/9
-Everything fits! Rev2 works and there's no need to do anymore. Only problem was that I had to add a spacer in between the front holes and the console (used a ziptie in between instead of washers).
-Now, I just need to gather a couple more supplies and install everything into the car.

9/30
-Bad news. So I've been working on installation for the past few days. Got everything installed and when I turned it on, the commands don't work anymore. There was an update recently, for the Alexa, and no I can't use the same commands as shown in the video anymore. I tried contacting customer service, but these guys don't know a thing and can't help me at all, they keep saying the same thing over and over when I keep telling them that I had already done that. I asked to let me rollback my firmware, but they won't let me. Alexa still works as device I can talk to and have it play music. But I just can't get it to unlock/lock doors and open/close the garage. I'll keep looking for a solution.


Stay tuned for more updates!

 

Cool project! Keep us updated!

 

So um, what does it do? All this technical detail about how, but none about what.

What can you ask Alexa to do for you in the car?

 

keep him company during road trips

 

Same thing you could do in your house I guess. Voice commands for music, directions, news etc. Cool idea. How are you keeping it connected? Wifi hotspot from your phone? Or is it not connected and can just access things on the Arduino or your phone?

 

At the moment, I am using my mobile hotspot. I am using Tasker on my Android. I have it so that when I disconnect from my home wifi, my mobile hotspot turns on. And if nothing connects within 10 minutes, my hotspot turns off. Or might just get a dedicated hotspot for my car.

I have a bluetooth headunit in my car, but, my Alexa will be connecting to it via bluetooth. My headunit can't handle multiple devices. If it was able to, then I would just set it so my hotspot turns on when I connect to my car bluetooth.

I also thought about just setting up an access point in my car, without any actual data, just so it could connect to my Arduinos. But, I want to make the most out of my Alexa.

 

Just to say hello and goodbye to her everyday

 

This is pretty neat! Would be very helpful on road trips etc. or ordering pizza on the way home

 

Very cool. Excited to see it finished.

 

Bad news. So I've been working on installation for the past few days. Got everything installed and when I turned it on, the commands don't work anymore. There was an update recently, for the Alexa, and no I can't use the same commands as shown in the video anymore. I tried contacting customer service, but these guys don't know a thing and can't help me at all, they keep saying the same thing over and over when I keep telling them that I had already done that. I asked to let me rollback my firmware, but they won't let me. Alexa still works as device I can talk to and have it play music. But I just can't get it to unlock/lock doors and open/close the garage. I'll keep looking for a solution.