Also joining in the investing fun existing investors Shelter Capital Partners, StarVest Partners and Steamboat Ventures. Funds raised will be put toward new product development, marketing and sales as Passenger branches into new channels.

Passenger builds social networking solutions for managing private brand communities. Some of their clients include Mercedes, Microsoft and Fox.

A director on the boards of several wireless software solution provider Roamware and Nour-Omid was the founding Chairman and chief executive officer of StudioXchange, which found production sites, labor and equipment for the entertainment industry.

Former CEO Steve Howe is not the owner of a lonely heart; he is Passenger’s new chairman of the board.

“Mercedes-Benz has always been highly attuned to the voice of its loyal customer base, which has helped propel our brand to where it is today,” said Stephen Cannon, vice president of marketing, Mercedes-Benz USA. “When our customers join the brand, they tend to stay. Our Generation Benz community is a natural extension of our desire to broaden the Mercedes-Benz family, and establish a dialogue with future buyers to guide us with the design of our vehicles and direction of our brand.”
Mercedes-Benz will elicit feedback on its cars, brand positioning and socio-cultural trends and will preview upcoming ads and marketing campaigns, in what it said is a first in the luxury auto space.

Passenger works with companies such as ABC, Chrysler, Coca-Cola and Fox to build and manage private online communities to make more informed business decisions, innovate more rapidly, and design better products and services.

Passenger and Fox built the community for viewers aged between 18 and 49. Passenger provides a combination of social-networking, community-building and collaboration technologies in an intuitive and scalable platform that enhances customer experiences. With its software-as-a-service technology and suite of client services, Passenger is providing FOX with the ability to collaborate, build advocacy and apply analytical technologies in one single platform, the company said.

To kick off the community, FOX is planning to use the community’s feedback for suggestions in promoting fall programming. FOX has invited subscribers from its email marketing list to join its new community. The network will be looking for feedback on everything from brand-marketing, trailers for upcoming shows, plot direction in current shows and how the audience balances TV viewing and online habits.

In other network news, ABC, is loosening its white-knuckled grip on syndicated programs. Full episodes of audience favorites like “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives” will be accessible on Veoh.com, an independent video site. All shows will be free and advertising-supported.