I wonder why he would say that? I thought they were good batteries. I have one in my Porsche and I lot of people use them in there 95-98 993s because the battery just attaches to the floor of the trunk in front next to the spare tire. No battery box or anything. We like them because the don't leak like a regular lead acid battery so you greatly reduce if not eliminate the possibility of damage from leaking.

On a positive note my Optima discharged below 12 volts about a year ago. I took it to the Interstate dealer I bought it from and he recharged it and tested it and said it was ok. He said the Optima can be severely discharged and not be ruined like regular lead acid batteries. I do try to keep it connected to a trickle charger now since I don't drive the car regularly. I also installed one of those Priorty Start units which will completely dissconnect the battery from the load when the battery voltage get to 12 volts, that why you don't discharge the battery any further so you can start you car.

Personally I use lead acid Interstate Batteries in all my cars except the Porsche. I'm not really that worried about leaking on the other vehicle and besides they sit on a tray whereas the Porsche has no tray, box or anything.