2000 Volkswagen Beetle electrical system problems

Vehicle caught fire while on way home from work. Initial symptom was that vehicle lost power while on highway and stalled. Vehicle was able to be restarted. It then was able to be driven approx. 5 miles when it again lost power. It was then able to be restarted. Vehicle was driven to a fuel station when it stalled. Upon restart the instrument panel gages were not operative. It was driven into an amoco gas station when smoke began emanating from under the hood.

The transmission mechanically failed on 3 june 2013. Prior to it failing I had taken the vehicle to three different VW repair shop over a four year period, due to the car suddenly downshifting all the way to first gear. The car will drive normally for about 30 minutes, then start having this downshifting issue, I pull over and let the car cool a few minutes then all is normal again for a short period of time. Of course with the downshifting the tranny tends to overheat quickly.