It reminds me of a testing incident I had in early 1992 as an engineer at Kelsey-Hayes. I was working on the an early test mule for what would become the Ford Windstar several years later. This development vehicle was cobbled together from another brand of minivan and the front axles were made from two pieces joined by a threaded stud with the seam welded. During one stop, I heard a loud snap! and when I tried to pull away, the engine revved but the vehicle never moved. Thinking the transmission had failed, I climbed out to take a look and found the two separated halves of the axle now hanging down toward the pavement. We ended up towing the vehicle back to the garage and removing the axle parts so we could get it welded back together. Not quite as catastrophic as this one, but it still disabled the vehicle.