While the combined efforts of Chrysler and Fiat are working overtime to revamp the manufacturer’s product line, both here and overseas, interesting dribbles and drabs of information keep surfacing to keep the faithful from jumping ship.

Allpar.com has reported that sources indicate the Viper model line may be expanded and the name Venom may be one of the new model designations. The topic of a Viper-lite model has surfaced previously and could be a good thing for the companies involved.

Drawing a parallel to the Mustang and Camaro V6 models, a lower-priced bread-and-butter version often helps to finance the cost of top-of-the-line models. In Fiat’s case, a mid-range Viper could also be rebadged as a high-end Alfa Romeo in Europe.

In other news, Sergio Marchionne has apparently confirmed that there would be a Charger Super Bee model, without releasing any details. There is little doubt that “boutique” models, aka special editions, draw new potential buyers and encourage others to buy sooner than they might have otherwise. Marchionne appears to have already embraced this North American marketing strategy with gusto and shows no sign of abandoning it any time soon.

While Marchionne and crew have done a great job in freshening the North American lineup, there is far more to come yet. Fiat desperately needs to start achieving the economies of scale that are available through the North American market. Despite there being major differences between the US and European markets, the rights designs and the right value propositions – on both sides of the ocean – could take the company from a second string player to a force in the market.