VEHICLE IS A MANUAL 6 SPEED. TWO INCIDENTS - FIRST, THE CAR WOULDN'T ENGAGE INTO REVERSE FROM A STOP UNTIL THE VEHICLE IGNITION WAS TURNED OFF AND ON SEVERAL TIMES. CAR OPERATED NORMALLY FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS. SECOND INCIDENT, CAR WOULDN'T ENGAGE INTO ANY GEAR WHILE MOVING 10-15 MPH UPHILL WHILE IN FIRST GEAR. DURING LOSS OF POWER TRAIN, THE ENGINE REVVED IN THE 4000-5000 RPM RANGE, SMOKE WAS VISIBLY COMING OUT OF THE ENGINE BAY AND THERE WAS COMPLETE LOSS OF BRAKES, INCLUDING THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. THE VEHICLE STARTED TO ROLL BACKWARD DOWNHILL AND WAS STOPPED BY TURNING THE VEHICLE INTO THE SIDEWALK. TOWED THE VEHICLE TO BOARDWALK VW IN REDWOOD CITY, CA AND THE SERVICE PERSONNEL AND TOW TRUCK DRIVER WITNESSED THAT THE VEHICLE'S REVERSE POWER TRAIN WAS NOT ENGAGING PROPERLY. AFTER 2 DAYS OF DIAGNOSTICS, THE TECHNICIANS WERE NOT ABLE TO REPLICATE THE ISSUE AND CONCLUDED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATING WITHIN MANUFACTURER SPECIFICATIONS. NO REPAIR WAS FORMALLY PERFORMED. *TR