Secondly, and more importantly, the BBC is ironically more independent than the independent channels. Because its financed out of the public purse, it is not vulnerable to pressure from car manufacturers threatening to pull advertising revenue in the light of bad car revues (a problem that has plagued attempts to make an american Top Gear).
I bet Netflix isn’t concerned about auto makers being pissed off. Do they get Netflix in the UK? Call it “House of Cars”.