Give a bath to a cat

I've always wondered about this too. I've had a lot of cats in my lifetime and some presently. I have given some of them a bath when they were kittens, but only at that time, because at one point or another they had gotten into something and needed one. As they got older however, I was never able to get some of my cats even near water. They hated it! Others were curious and would walk on the side of the tub, but never go in it. The sound alone would scare most of them. Do they like it? Can we get them to like it somehow? Do they need it since they often bathe themselves? (Unless of course they had something spilled on them). I've also heard it's not good to ever get water in a cat's ears. It would be good to make them smell pretty and be all fluffy after a bath, but does anyone know any ways to get them to actually like the water? Any tips?