Unbelievable to read some of these posts...
if your charging system is in good shape it will charge ANY optima battery just fine...
Any sealed sprial wound battery is acceptable to put in a passenger compartment. It will not outgas or leak unless you overcharge the bejezus out of it or something catastrophic happens. ie. Park your car in a forest fire, have an autobahn style accident.
(I'd love get my battery out of the engine compartment, Especially since HEAT is the number one killer of batteries.)
I've got the blue top in my boat, While it is the strongest battery I've ever encountered, it also costs 2 or 3 times as much as a standard battery... but is it 2 or 3 times as good??? (probably not)
I've had it for less than a year, it had better last at least 4 years. In my book, longevity counts almost as much as CCAs
you might want to read this...
http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm
you can read about 'deep cycle batteries as start batteries' as well as in depth info on AGMs
heres another awesom page... especially the 'myths' portion
http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/carfaq.htm
good luck,
Robert