A round of $5.5 million in equity has been secured by High Gear Media, the ‘automotive authority’ of the Web. Though the sources of the recent funding have not been disclosed, the Palo Alto, California-based startup – earlier called the Car Advisory Network – has previously raised a Series A round of venture capital from Accel Partners and Greylock Partners.

The 2007-founded company brings together a leading digital publishing and syndication platform, profound editorial proficiency, and an exclusive model of publishing several automotive media sites to draw the attention of various consumer interests and lifestyles.

With executives reputed for building web experiences at companies - such as Yahoo!, Shoplocal, Sidestep, Glam Media, Farechase among others - High Gear Media operates 38 automotive properties - including GreenCarReports.com, TheCarConnection.com, and AllCarsElectric.com.

In May this year, High Gear Media announced the addition of Autotrader.com to their automotive content syndication set-up. It was also announced that the services of the company had been sought by NBC Digital Networks, for the purpose of development of content for their online property, NBCAutoshow.com.

Applauding the High Gear Media platform, Devin Johnson – Vice President of NBC Digital Networks – had said: “We chose to partner with High Gear Media because their innovative approach to creating relevant and rich content enables us to support the growth and expansion of NBC Digital Networks' brand and assets.”