Well you definitely don't want it to get to 100%, that will guarantee a trip to the dealer. You will need some monitoring equipment to actually see the soot levels.
If you are looking for a low maintenance (fuel, oil, drive) type of vehicle the Ridgeline is for you. If you like to tinker/repair/modify, and maintain the ecodiesel might be your ticket. Read around this forum for engine tunes, if that is something you are comfortable with you will enjoy the RAM
My local costco has diesel here. I also use a local station called fast fuel. It is a commercial (unmanned) fueling station that has hi flow diesel pumps, off road diesel, bio diesel, mid and premium non ethanol gas and 10% ethanol.
I hear ya, I actually have NO brand loyalty to any manufacturer and have had to "complete" the products I have bought in many instances. everything from poorly made furniture to $40,000 travel trailers that weren't working properly. I guess I just consider some of that part of the "Ownership...
There are various levels of engine tunes that will maximize your vehicles performance that you can easily take in and out for testing and at least one compliant tune that should help with the longevity of your vehicle.
GreenSpace10-
So sorry you had such a crappy experience . After all your reading here why not just try the tune like "everyone else on this forum" to see if you will have a duplicate experience in that regard also? If not I hope the NEW Chevy works well! Should be an incredible truck!
That is a great looking rig, hopefully you will be very happy with it. Not sure what you consider series but read around here for engine tunes. That would probably be a good start to any mods you are looking at.