Want a Ford F-150 Lightning or Chevy 454 SS pickup? Check out Mecum's Houston auction

Performance trucks with an off-road orientation are hugely popular right now, with nearly every truck builder having at least one offering. But it used to be that sporty, street-oriented trucks were the hot thing. If you still have a soft spot (as this author does) for those street trucks, Mecum has a bunch of two icons of the segment, the Ford F-150 Lightning and the Chevy 454 SS pickup, all of which will be offered at the company's Houston auction from April 4 to 6.

Of the two, you're probably more familiar with the Ford, which in its second-generation form held the record for fastest production pickup truck until Dodge launched the Ram SRT-10. This generation of the Lightning launched in 1999 with 360 horsepower from a supercharged 5.4-liter V8, which increased to 380 for 2001. Mecum has six of these second-generation models available, and all of them are 2001 or newer, so they have the more powerful engine. Each is a lovely low-miles stock example, you just have to pick your color. There are two red ones, a blue one, a black one, a white one and a graphite one.

Then we have the Chevy 454 SS, which actually predates both generations of the F-150 Lightning. Unsurprisingly, it packs a 454-cubic-inch pushrod V8, which translates to 7.4 liters. That old-school big-block power is coupled to an old-school three-speed automatic transmission. The truck let you know that's what it was packing, too, with a big 454 sticker on the bed. The six trucks Mecum is offering are in black or red, but you have a choice between bone stock versions, or those that are lightly customized, mostly with lowered suspension and/or custom wheels.