a vehicle headliner having a panel formed of a compressed and molded thermoplastic polymer fiber batt , wherein the fibers are thermally fused together at a multiplicity of locations to impart to the panel a self - supporting rigidity to allow the headliner to retain its shape while also rendering the panel highly deformable and resilient to allow the panel to be bent during installation and thereafter resiliently recover its original shape , is prepared by a process in which improved loft retention of the batt is achieved by appropriate selection of heating parameters and / or selection of polymeric fibers . also , a process for achieving reduced plastic deformation and improved mechanical properties by modifying the crystallinity of the binder fibers of the batt is disclosed .