Luxury auto brands are making money on entry luxury vehicles. As they move into even smaller segments of the market with vehicles like BMW 1-Series and a Mercedes-Benz vehicle, among others, they are butting up against mainstream cars that are getting more and more premium with their features. Detroit makers, especially, hope to increase small-car profits enough to make up for losing some of the huge earnings they've gained through the years from big trucks and SUVs, which are less popular now.