[elhigh]

I think the regen cycle is partly about emissions but also partly about extending the life of the cat. Hopefully someone will weigh in on this to clear up any misconceptions, but my understanding is that the regen cycle briefly drops the car back into stoich to heat the cat back up and keep it operating normally, and to burn off anything that has accumulated within it while it was running cool under lean burn.

I don't live in the sticks (maybe I do - small town of about 1600) but the metro area doesn't have annual inspections here either. As long as your lights work and the wheels don't come off, you're good.