Optimas serve some good purposes:
1) They loose their charge very slowly. If you are in a situations where your vehicle sits for extended periods, an Optima is a good choice because it self-discharges MUCH slower than a traditional lead acid battery.
2) They can be mounted at any angle. Not important for most car applications, but can be useful for boats and unusal applications.
3) Very durable. Shock and vibration resistent. Positive for offroading and boating applications.
4) Long lasting. I have a blue top (hybrid starting/deep cycle) that I have used as a trolling motor battery, for jump starting, and now as a UPS battery. It's about seven or eight years old. If I lose power here at the house, it will power my PC for a couple of hours. It's still going strong.
5) No outgassing when charged. Useful for indoor applications (like a computer UPS, inverter, etc.).
I am NOT a fan of Optimas for $150, nor do I think they should be used as a substitute for a good quality flooded battery when the situation doesn't demand it. My ST's OEM Motorcraft lasted seven years. That was a great battery.
At under $100, Optimas are a very good value for a quality battery with specific performance traits. If my blue top died tomorrow, I'd go get another, even if for no other reason to simply to have around the house.