Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I heard about the Echo Auto in an Amazon Echo group on Facebook. People were talking about being the lucky ones to get an invite, some discussed the hands free part of it, which made me interested. My car comes with a hands free voice computer system, but it does not work well, so I never use it. I also bought this because it's an Echo. I got the invite rather fast and started using it right away. A little background: Amazon's Echo devices have changed our lives. Especially for my blind son (32 years old). I bought the Echo Auto for him, so he can continue to experience the control he finally has on what he wants to listen to, by talking to Alexa. He has some learning delays in addition to his blindness, but Alexa has been relatively easy for him to use and has empowered him to be able to do things he could never do before: like control the A/C, go to various radio stations around the world on his radio, and use his Fire TV and all the apps he has on it. We are grateful to Amazon for creating these devices. What I found needs work on the Echo Auto: 1. It's a little convoluted to hook up to the car's radio for the average person (like my husband). I can do it, but the directions that came with it missed some steps in regards to a person's cell phone and what they need to do. I think more detailed instructions might help people. 2. There is no place on my dash to put it ( 2012 Ford Expedition), my vents are circular so I couldn't use the vent kit they sell, and there's no way to organize the cable. I'm going to have to stick it down on the lower front side of my center console, which will make it slightly hard to see the lights on the Echo. It's not as streamlined as I thought it would be, probably because of the cables being loose. I will probably use electrical tape to keep them flush with everything, which will not be fun to look at. Lately I've just been putting it in one of our cup holders so it can hear my son, seated behind me. Alexa requires him to yell at her for her to understand him, so that's a problem. What I really like: 1. When I asked Alexa for directions (which normally are a pain to get on my phone), she connected us to my phone's app and had it talking to us with the directions within seconds. I can't do it that fast via my phone! That is a huge bonus. 2. We got to really try the Echo Auto out during a recent 12-hour (round trip) long drive when we evacuated from a hurricane. We put her though the paces, so to speak, and I think she not only was impressive with her speed at completing our commands, but also with all the cool things we used her for. Hearing her voice through the car's speakers was helpful too. She made this trip go by fast, versus two other hurricane evacuations without an Echo. For the price of $25, this is a good little device. But for full price, you might have more disgruntled people leaving bad reviews. I'm a diehard Echo and Alexa fan, just so you know. If you can get a deal on this, I recommend it. I probably would still buy it at $50, because of what I know and how much we use it. It certainly paid for itself in our hurricane evacuation alone. They need to figure out a better way to control the cables and for placing it. Also, better instructions for hooking it up.